19th Century Artillery at the Cornet Castle (Guernsey)

The long French Wars left Britain exhausted. As for other forts, the various reports on Castle Cornet written for the Board of Ordinance and the War Department provide a general picture of neglect , with periodic flurries on repair and improvement.

Armament was often left unmounted, and until about 1870 was comprised of muzzle loaders. Traversing platforms for some guns were eventually built. In the early 1870s the technology was uprated by the provision of six 7in . Armstrong Rifled Muzzle Loading Guns (110-pounders) on the Cavalier battery. These provided the major armament until 1901 when they were replaced by two 12-pounder Quick Firing guns.