The four cannons were excavated and remounted as part of a development plan for the Morne Fortune Historic Area.

The Saint Lucia National Trust has successfully excavated four cannons at the Apostle’s Battery at the Morne Fortune Historic Area.

The Apostle’s Battery, along with the batteries at La Toc and Vigie, was an important part of the defenses of the Castries Harbor, and Saint Lucia during the battles between the British and the French. 

The cannons are nine inch rifled muzzle loading guns, commissioned in 1892. They were decommissioned in 1905, after hostilities between the British and French ended.

The National Trust said the remounting of the guns is part of the overall development plan for the Morne Fortune Historic Area.

Godfrey Weir, a British civil engineer seconded to the National Trust as a volunteer, developed and executed the restoration plan.

With the help of a 50 ton crane, the four guns, each four meters long and weighing 12.2 tonnes, were lifted from their buried locations and fitted onto their original emplacements. The guns will be de-rusted and a protective coating applied to preserve them.

According to the National Trust, the site will further be developed and public access created in future.