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| HER Number: | MDV102645 |
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| Name: | Craters on Pebble Slack and Churchill Plain, Braunton Burrows |
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Summary
Two groups of pits are visible as circular earthworks on aerial photographs between 1945 and 1957. They are interpreted as craters associated with Second World War military training activities by the U.S. Army. The earthworks are likely to have been destroyed by modern mechanical 'scraping' for habitat restoration.
Location
| Grid Reference: | SS 453 332 |
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| Map Sheet: | SS43SE |
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| Admin Area | Devon |
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| Civil Parish | Braunton |
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| District | North Devon |
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| Ecclesiastical Parish | BRAUNTON |
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Protected Status
- SHINE: Earthworks and structural remains of World War II military training features for D-Day Landings on Braunton Burrows and nineteenth century reclaimed field system on Braunton Marsh NW of Horsey Island
Other References/Statuses
Monument Type(s) and Dates
- BOMB CRATER (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
Full description
Royal Air Force, 1945, RAF/106G/LA/102, NMR RAF/106G/LA/102 5004-5005 17-JAN-1945 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349060.
Two groups of circular earthwork pits are visible.
Royal Air Force, 1957, RAF/58/2205 F21, NMR RAF/58/2205 F21 0066-0067 05-JUL-1957 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349736.
The craters are visible as earthworks.
Next Perspectives, 2001, Next Perspectives PGA Tile Ref:, Next Perspectives PGA Tile Ref: SS4533 22-MAY-2001 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349376.
The circular earthwork pits are not visible, and the sites of all but one of them have been subject to extensive groundworks to create scrapes for habitat recreation.
Hegarty, C. + Knight, S., 2011-2012, North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV349018.
Two groups of pits are visible as circular earthworks on aerial photographs between 1945 and 1957. The group at Pebble Slack consists of 16 small craters circa 2.5 metres in diameter along the roadside and a larger crater of 14 metres diameter to the north-west, while the cluster of three at Churchill Down are 6 metres in diameter. The craters are likely to be a result of Second World War military training by the U.S. Army. Extensive flat-bottomed scrapes, presumably for habitat recreation, are visible on the site of the craters on aerial photographs taken in 2001, and these groundworks are likely to have destroyed most remaining earthworks.
Sources / Further Reading
| SDV349018 | Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S.. 2011-2012. North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. ACD383/2/1. Digital. |
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| | Linked documents:1 |
| SDV349060 | Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1945. RAF/106G/LA/102. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR RAF/106G/LA/102 5004-5005 17-JAN-1945. [Mapped features: #62116 ; #62117 ; #62118 ; #62119 ] |
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| SDV349376 | Aerial Photograph: Next Perspectives. 2001. Next Perspectives PGA Tile Ref:. Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs. Digital. Next Perspectives PGA Tile Ref: SS4533 22-MAY-2001. |
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| SDV349736 | Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1957. RAF/58/2205 F21. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR RAF/58/2205 F21 0066-0067 05-JUL-1957. |
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Associated Monuments
| MDV57283 | Part of: Braunton Areas A, B, C and D of US Assault Training Centre (Monument) |
Associated Finds: none recorded
Associated Events
- EDV6132 - North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty NMP Project (Ref: ACD383/2/1)
| Date Last Edited: | Aug 11 2022 9:04AM |
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