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| HER Number: | MDV103263 |
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| Name: | Military Trenches South of The Esplanade, Woolacombe |
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Summary
Six narrow zig-zag trenches are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs between 1946 and 1958, interpreted as slit trenches used for military training or defence in the Second World War. They are likely to have been levelled between 1958 and 1989.
Location
| Grid Reference: | SS 457 437 |
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| Map Sheet: | SS44SE |
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| Admin Area | Devon |
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| Civil Parish | Mortehoe |
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| District | North Devon |
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| Ecclesiastical Parish | MORTEHOE |
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Protected Status: none recorded
Other References/Statuses: none recorded
Monument Type(s) and Dates
- SLIT TRENCH (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
Full description
Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/106G/UK/1501, NMR RAF/106G/UK/1501 3277-3278 13-MAY-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349927.
Six trenches are visible as earthworks.
Royal Air Force, 1958, RAF 58/2555, NMR RAF/P58/2555 PSFO-P1 0367-0368 SS4643/3-SS4643/4 01-SEP-1958 (Aerial Photograph). SDV350309.
The trenches are just visible as earthworks on this oblique aerial photograph.
Ordnance Survey, 1989, OS/89114, NMR OS/89114 676-677 04-MAY-1989 (Aerial Photograph). SDV350315.
The trenches are not visible.
British Broadcasting Corporation, 2006, WW2 People's War, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/94/a1969194.shtml (Website). SDV350519.
'Trenches were dug on the top of the dunes down to the Boathouse cafe and along the cliff tops, bordered with sand bags' woolacombegirl, WW2 People's War, 04-NOV-2003
Hegarty, C. + Knight, S., 2011 - 2012, North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV349018.
Six narrow zig-zag trenches are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs between 1946 and 1958. They cover half a hectare in total although the segments are disjointed, and at 1.5 metres in width resemble slit trenches used for military training in the Second World War. Their location above the beach indicates that they could have been intended for defence in the event of invasion, and date to the early part of the war, as suggested in an oral history account collected in 2003. There was no sign of any earthworks on aerial photographs taken in 1989, and they are likely to have been levelled and the area landscaped.
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 |
| SDV349927 | Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/106G/UK/1501. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR RAF/106G/UK/1501 3277-3278 13-MAY-1946. [Mapped feature: #62743 ] |
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| SDV350309 | Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1958. RAF 58/2555. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR RAF/P58/2555 PSFO-P1 0367-0368 SS4643/3-SS4643/4 01-SEP-1958. |
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| SDV350315 | Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1989. OS/89114. Ordnance Survey Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR OS/89114 676-677 04-MAY-1989. |
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| SDV350519 | Website: British Broadcasting Corporation. 2006. WW2 People's War. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/. Website. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/94/a1969194.shtml. |
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Associated Monuments: none recorded
Associated Finds: none recorded
Associated Events
- EDV6132 - North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty NMP Project
| Date Last Edited: | Nov 22 2012 12:55PM |
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