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We need to raise £48,000 to replace the two gun carriages at The Needles Old Battery on the Isle of Wight.  Will you help us hit our target?

Our Victorian guns on the Parade Ground are two of the original six which were made and placed there in 1873. When they became outdated at the turn of the last century the guns and their carriages were thrown over the cliffs into the sea. The guns were eventually salvaged and dispersed around the country with these two fortunately being returned to their original position.

Replica gun carriages were made in the early 1980s so that the guns could be displayed to full effect, but these carriages haven’t fared so well as the guns and the salty sea winds around this most westerly point of the island, have caused the carriages to rust and corrode.

Each carriage supports a gun weighing 12 tons so it's vital they are in good condition and without them, the guns will just be left to lie on the Parade Ground giving no idea of how they once looked or operated.

£48,000 sounds like a lot of money.... it is a lot of money but gun carriages aren’t something you can buy off the shelf and have to be custom made. Logistical challenges of lifting the guns off the old carriages on to the new, at a site where the only means of access is across a wooden bridge with a weight restriction, add to the expense.

We have now found a local supplier who can make and fit the carriages for us. All that’s left is for us to raise the money. Please help us hit our target – any donation however small will help us present these guns in the way they deserve for future generations to enjoy.

Find our more at: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/needles-old-battery-and-new-battery/our-work/

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