Hatherwood Battery is a battery

Artillery battery

In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...

 located to the east of Alum Bay

Alum Bay

Alum Bay is a bay near the westernmost point of the Isle of Wight, England, within sight of the Needles. Of geological interest and a tourist attraction, the bay is noted for its multi-coloured sand cliffs.-Geology:...

 on the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

. It is one of the many Palmerston Forts

Palmerston Forts

The Palmerston Forts are a group of forts and associated structures, around the coast of Britain.The forts were built during the Victorian period on the recommendations of the 1860 Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom, following concerns about the strength of the French Navy, and...

built on the island to protect it in response to a perceived French invasion. Construction of the battery began in 1865 and was complete by 1869. Today not much is left of the battery as it has been left to decay, with some parts falling off the cliff due to erosion.
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