Fort Cambridge Development Brief

What is the major historical element on the site?

The site includes Fort Cambridge, also known as the Cambridge Battery and which has a pentagonal configuration in plan. This gort dates to between 1878 and 1886 and formerly included one of the famous 100-ton guns like that presently found at Fort Rinella. This fort is in effect a twin design of the Rinella Fort and differs only slightly in design.

Is this just another historical building?

In 1877, Italy embarked upon a major upgrading of its fleet by including vessels with guns of a 100-ton calibre. To counteract this development, the British military upgraded its coastal defences with four similar 100-ton guns in its primary Mediterranean bases. These coastal guns replaced the obsolete 12.5 inch or 38-ton rifled muzzle loading (RML) guns which were powerless against the new heavier armed vessels. Considering the proximity of Italy and Italian ambitions to control the Mediterranean, this threat was taken very seriously by the British and by 1884 all guns were mounted. The 100-ton guns included two guns in Malta, one at Fort Cambridge and one at Fort Rinella. The Fort Rinella gun emplacement has recently been successfully restored for tourism purposes. Two similar guns were installed in Gibraltar.

The gun itself was mounted on a wrought iron traversing carriage weighing some 45 tons, roughly in the middle of the battery and was designed to be fired en barbette over a low lying concrete parapet. The interpretation of the fort's character, therefore, is essentially one of a low, open, frontal view onto the coast

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