Forbes' Batteries
Forbes' Batteries are two old artillery sites in Gibraltar, part of the Northern Defences on the eastern end of Princes Lines. The casemated batteries carried five guns on two levels, with a famous quarry behind them called Forbes' Quarry.
They are named for Lt. George Forbes RN, aide to Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt and the 3rd Earl of Granard (1685–1765), who fought in the 1704 attack and the 1727 siege. In 1727 two 6-pounder guns were mounted there. In 1761 the British built Upper Forbes' Battery and Lower Forbes' Battery.
Upper Forbes' Battery has two magazines—one brick and one stone—built against the cliff, and above the batteries is Forbes' Lookout.
In World War II, a 40-mm Mark 3 gun on a mobile mounting was placed in Upper Forbes Battery in 1942 and stayed until December 1944. An iron cupola cantilevered from the rock face housed a searchlight.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 22:56 (CET).