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Summary

HMS Cambridge, originally HM Gunnery Range Wembury, was formally established in 1956. Large scale removal and demolition of the site took place in 2002.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Military earthworks, buildings and structural remains at HMS Cambridge, Wembury Point

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX54NW/100
• SHINE Candidate (Yes)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• MILITARY TRAINING SITE (XVIII to XXI - 1751 AD to 2009 AD (Between))

Full description

English Heritage, HMS Cambridge (Report - Assessment). SDV347539.

Rapid assessment of the significance of HMS Cambridge covering its location and history together with a description and assessment of the Leach Building and the Board and Search Building. Extensive demolition works were carried out by the MOD in 2002, removing all naval and military buildings, ancillary structures and gun mountings with the exception of the Watchman radar station, the Leach building and the Board and Search building. Retention of the Leach Building to be recommended and photographic recording of the other buildings prior to their removal.

Unknown, HMS Cambridge (Aerial Photograph). SDV347540.

Photocopies of aerial photos of HMS Cambridge ?Leach Building.

Ordnance Survey, 1915, 130NW (Cartographic). SDV337483.

Royal Air Force, 1946, CPE/UK 1890 (Aerial Photograph). SDV140289.

Other details: 57/102.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1890, RAF/CPE/UK/1890 RP 3108-3109 10-DEC-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351061.

The Second World War accommodation camp for HM Gunnery Range Wembury is visible as a large number of structures, including the requisitioned holiday camp to the north-west of the site.

Ordnance Survey, 1954, Untitled Source (Cartographic). SDV345535.

Horner, W., 1993, HMS Cambridge (Personal Comment). SDV346014.

HMS Cambridge. Naval training establishment. Visible on Royal Air Force 1946 aerial photograph. The buildings are marked on Ordnance Survey 6 inch (1954) map and the site is still operational in 1993. No buildings are marked on Ordnance Survey 6 inch (1915) map but there is a rectangular enclosure with War Department boundary stones at its corners (see subsheet). The buildings recorded on the Ordnance Survey 6 inch (1964) plan appear to be roughly similar to those on the 1946 aerial photograph. However current maps indicate that there has probably been much rebuilding since 1954. The south-west portion of the site (SX44NE/9) on the aerial photograph appears to include gun emplacements, probably for practice gunnery. The north portion of the site appears to have been largely accommodation, stores, central services etc.

GetMapping, 1999 - 2000, Millennium Map 1999-2000 Getmapping (Aerial Photograph). SDV321648.

Map object based on this Source.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2005, Gunnery Range Control Building (AKA The Leach Building), Former HMS Cambridge Site, Wembury, Plymouth, Devon (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV360469.

Notification of the granting of a Certificate of Immunity from listing for five years for the Gunnery Range Control Building.

Berry, N., 2006, Archaeological and Historic Landscape Survey of Wembury Point and The Mewstone, Wembury, Devon, 10-15 (Report - Survey). SDV345992.

Modern military activity at Wembury Point appears to date from the late 19th or early 20th century. By 1915 a small rectangular area was marked out by boundary stones, and included wooden accommodation blocks and position finding cells. During World War I the station was fenced with barbed wire, and in 1922 a permanent fence was placed around it, when it occupied a diamond shaped area on the crest of the hill. The army built additional accommodation for an infantry camp and a position finding station for the Royal Artillery during the 1930s, and many wooden buildings were replaced by brick buildings. In the 1940s the Royal Navy gained a foothold on the site, requisitioning part of the holiday camps which had co-existed with the earlier military presence, and by 1943 the whole headland became a purpose built gunnery school named HM Gunnery Range Wembury. After the war the Admiralty bought the requisitioned land outright to establish permanent long and short range seaward gunnery ranges. The whole site was named HMS Cambridge on 9th August 1956, and became the location for the entire west country gunnery training. The next forty years saw HMS Cambridge develop as the most important naval live firing range in the United Kingdom. It became the centre for Internal Security in 1985 and the old buildings were refurbished as the Naval Military Training School. Development continued through the 1990s, but by 1999 the gunnery section had become redundant and continual re-appraisal of military establishements led to its closure. Large scale demolition of the Firing Site and Main site was undertaken in 2002, followed by landscaping and sculpting of the hillsides and terraces using imported soil. The 'Watchman' radar station on the top of the hill remains in use. Other details: Figures 2-3, 12, 16-17, 20-21; maps and plans. Map object based on this Source.

Bluesky, 2006 - 2007, Bluesky aerial photographs 2006 - 2007 (Aerial Photograph). SDV341189.

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

The Second World War accommodation camp for HM Gunnery Range Wembury is visible as a large number of structures on aerial photographs of 1946, including the requisitioned holiday camp to the north-west of the site. The camp is surrounded by multiple barbed wire entanglements on the three sides, excluding the gunnery school on the tip of Wembury point and the requisitioned holiday camp to the north-west. A number of earthwork slit trenches and possible gun pits are located within the camp, and are recorded separately. As described above, the layout of the camp remained largely unchanged until its enhancement as HMS Cambridge in the 1950s.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV140289	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. CPE/UK 1890. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper).
SDV321648	Aerial Photograph: GetMapping. 1999 - 2000. Millennium Map 1999-2000 Getmapping. Millennium Map. Photograph (Digital).
SDV337483	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1915. 130NW. Second Edition Ordnance Survey 6 inch Map. Map (Paper).
SDV341189	Aerial Photograph: Bluesky. 2006 - 2007. Bluesky aerial photographs 2006 - 2007. Bluesky. Photograph (Digital).
SDV345535	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1954. Ordnance Survey 1:10,560 Map. Map (Paper).
SDV345992	Report - Survey: Berry, N.. 2006. Archaeological and Historic Landscape Survey of Wembury Point and The Mewstone, Wembury, Devon. National Trust Report. A4 Stapled + Digital. 10-15.
SDV346014	Personal Comment: Horner, W.. 1993. HMS Cambridge.
SDV347539	Report - Assessment: English Heritage. HMS Cambridge. A4 Stapled + Digital.
SDV347540	Aerial Photograph: Unknown. HMS Cambridge. Photocopy + Digital.
SDV351061	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/CPE/UK/1890. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1890 RP 3108-3109 10-DEC-1946.
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
SDV360469	List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest: Department for Culture, Media and Sport. 2005. Gunnery Range Control Building (AKA The Leach Building), Former HMS Cambridge Site, Wembury, Plymouth, Devon. Certificate of Immunity. Not applicable.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4959 - Survey of Wembury Point and the Mewstone, Wembury, Devon
• EDV6127 - Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme (NMP) for South-West England - South Coast Devon (Ref: ACD618)

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