See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

A probable military installation of Second World War date is visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s as a number of earthwork pits, slit trenches and banks arranged along a field boundary near the coast at Bundle Head. The precise function of the site is unknown.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• BOMBING DECOY? (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD (Between))
• RIFLE RANGE? (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1941, RAF/S411, RAF/S411 V 36-37 17-AUG-1941 (Aerial Photograph). SDV352281.

Linear pits and banks are visible as earthworks.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1824, RAF/CPE/UK/1824 3141 4-NOV-1946 - best 1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV352344.

The westernmost ditches and banks remain visible, but appear somewhat eroded.

Royal Air Force, 1951, RAF/58/680, RAF/58/680 3047-3048 15-MAY-1951 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351617.

Earthwork banks and hollows remain visible.

Environment Agency, 1998-2012, Lidar data JPEG SX97SW DTM, LIDAR SX97SW DTM Environment Agency 1998-2012 (Cartographic). SDV352356.

Subtle earthwork banks and hollows remain visible.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2013-2014, South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV351146.

A probable military installation of Second World War date is visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s as a number of earthwork pits and banks arranged along a field boundary near the coast at Bundle Head. A ‘gull-wing’ style slit trenches is also visible a short distance to the south. On 1941 images the site continues eastwards beyond the hedgerow in the form of two rows of parallel pits arranged towards a low earthwork bank. By 1946 these pits are no longer visible and the bank has been levelled. The earliest images of the site available to the survey are of poor clarity, but no structures are visibly associated with the earthworks.
The function of the earthworks is not clear from the aerial photographs alone. The ephemeral nature of the earthworks and their orientation towards the coast might indicate a small scale role such as a rifle range. Alternatively, a tentative association with possible emergency water supply tanks to the west might support the interpretation it operated as a site at risk of fire, such as a small bombing decoy site.
The site remains visible as low, subtle earthworks in aerial photographs of 1951 and traces are discernible on digital images derived from lidar data acquired between 1998 and 2012.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV351146	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2013-2014. South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV351617	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1951. RAF/58/680. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/58/680 3047-3048 15-MAY-1951.
SDV352281	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1941. RAF/S411. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/S411 V 36-37 17-AUG-1941.
SDV352344	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/CPE/UK/1824. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1824 3141 4-NOV-1946 - best 1946.
SDV352356	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 1998-2012. Lidar data JPEG SX97SW DTM. Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR SX97SW DTM Environment Agency 1998-2012.

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6127 - Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme (NMP) for South-West England - South Coast Devon (Ref: ACD618)

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.