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Summary

One of group of four searchlight emplacements at Fort Bovisand built in 1942. The searchlights were removed in 1957. Visible on aerial photographs taken from the 1940s onwards as a flat roofed structure.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1415914: Coastal Artillary Search Light, Wembury

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: 1320164
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX45SE/18/4

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• SEARCHLIGHT BATTERY (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD (Between))

Full description

English Heritage, 10/02/2014, Staddon Heights DAS - Submarine Mine Observation Station and Searchlights, Wembury, Devon (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV356299.

The CASLs at Fort Bovisand survive as a clearly defined group, removed from the fort, and should be considered for designation on their own merits.

These examples survive well with their structures in tact and in some cases with doors in situ and internal fittings such as lighting, fuse boxes and cabling. The group all retain their roof vent for heat extraction.
Reasons for Designation:-
Historic interest: they have strong cultural and historical significance, within both a local and national
context, marking the improvement in search light technology during the Second World War to defend against enemy attack;
Rarity: it is uncommon for CASLs to survive well in such a grouping on the shoreline;
Intactness: despite some damage and decay to the fabric, and the removal of some doors and
fittings, the majority of the fabric remains intact and legible;
Group Value: the structures form an historic group with each other, Fort Bovisand and related
structures, and with the Staddon Heights military landscape as a whole.

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/2105, RAF/CPE/UK/2105 RP 3138-3139 28-MAY-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351151.

The structure is visible as a flat roofed structure.

Pye, A., 1992, Plymouth Fortress Survey (Report - non-specific). SDV167755.

Searchlight emplacement. Shuttered concrete construction with a flat roof. Built in 1942 when the twin 6 pounder guns were installed on the casements. Entry is via a pathway at the ear which also gave access via a pathway to another searchlight. Interior not accessible. Occupied by a water tank?

Pye, A. + Woodward, F., 1996, The Historic Defences of Plymouth, 213-4 (Monograph). SDV167752.

[One of] four searchlight emplacements situated at the high water mark, facing south. Three are cut into an early 19th century sea wall. The western two each have a pair of light slits in the front face, the eastern two have three. Access is from the rear through armoured doors. Each is of shuttered concrete and brick construction with a flat bitumen roof containing a central vent directly over the searchlight. The emplacements are complete. Three are used for storage or accommodate tanks, the fourth lies open and derelict. The searchlights were removed in 1957.

Historic England, 2014, NMR 29059, NMR 29059_026 13-JUN-2014 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363262.

The structure is visible as a flat roofed structure with two vertical openings on the south-west face.

Cornwall Archaeological Unit, 2017, South Cornwall Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey Desk-Based Assessment, 1078 (Interpretation). SDV360825.

A small concrete-built searchlight emplacement associated with the Bovisand Submarine Mine Observation Station.

Ordnance Survey, 2018, MasterMap 2018 (Cartographic). SDV360652.

Emplacement shown.

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2019-2020, The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (AI&M, formerly NMP) (Interpretation). SDV362982.

The Second World War searchlight emplacement is visible on aerial photographs taken from the 1940s onwards as a flat roofed structure. It is approximately 6 metres in maximum extent and broadly L-shaped with two vertical lights and a convex curve in its south-west face. It is adequately depicted on the modern mapping so has not been transcribed as part of this project.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4534 - Survey of Fort Bovisand
• EDV8098 - The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping (formerly NMP) Survey, Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (Ref: ACD2040)

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