NHER 53120 (Building) - Old Battery House, Crossbank Road

House, part of King's Lynn Coastguard Station; 1883, red brick with tiled roofs.
Until 1856 there had been a small number of coastguard officers based in King's Lynn fulfilling mainly customs duties. In 1875 plans were drawn up for a new coastguard station, now St Edmund's Terrace, and this was opened in 1883. The station consisted of a terrace of five cottages, which provided accommodation for the crew and their families, immediately to the north of which was a detached building containing officers' accommodation and a boathouse (now 6 St Edmunds Terrace). The Battery House is a detached building at the south end of the terrace, and seems to have functioned as a residential training college for young men from the surrounding area for whom the coastguard was a route into a career with the Royal Navy. The name suggests an association with artillery, but could equally imply artillery personel. Although there is no direct evidence for the housing of arms, this may have been part of the building's function, and the training received by young recruits would certainly have involved the use of firearms.
Information from (S1).
See also (S2).
A. Cattermole (NLA), 11 November 2009.