Visitors’ Site Guide
Pembroke History Mario Farrugia The locality, known today as Pembroke derives its name and owes its origin to the British. However, a number of coast defences had already been erected in this locality during the time of the Order of St John. Thus, in the stretch of coastline between St George’s Bay and Ba˙ar iç-Çag˙aq, one can find a tower (St George’s) built by Grand Master Lascaris( 1637-1649) and subsequently another one (Madliena) built by Grand Master de Redin between 1657 and 1660. By the 1850s musket ranges had been a tented camp which had already been established by the British military authorities. In 1859, Sidney Herbert, Secretary at War, sanctioned the building a stone encampment capable of accommodating 1,000 men. This was to be called Pembroke Camp in honour of the Secretary at War who was the 12th Earl of Pembroke. The site was chosen because it was considered to be one of the healthiest spots in the island. The following year Spinola Palace was converted into a hospital, named Forrest Hospital, to serve Pembroke Camp. In 1860 the Guard Room and barrack blocks were inaugurated and named St George’s Barracks. Later,
on 6th June 1862 Edward, Prince of Wales laid the foundation stone of the Soldiers Institute and Library within the same barracks. Between 1875 and 1878, Fort Pembroke was built to defend the approaches to the Grand Harbour. The fort was armed with three 11-inch Rifled Muzzle Loading guns and one 64-pdr gun. The guns at the fort needed to be updated but the military decided it would be cheaper to build a new battery. In 1897, a new battery, named Pembroke Battery, was built and equipped with 9.2-inch Breach-Loading guns. On 24 June 1901, the foundation stone of St Andrew’s Barracks was laid by the Governor of Malta, Sir Francis Grenfell. The Guard Room and the clock tower were built in 1903, and in 1908 an army school for soldiers’ children was opened. In the same year an examination battery was constructed in the vicinity of Madliena tower. This battery was armed with two 12-pounder Quick Firing (QF) guns. During the First World War, when thousands of wounded
Batterija ta’ Pembroke | Pembroke Battery (1899)
Sala tal-Awstralja | Australia Hall
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