Monument record TQ 77 SE 235 - Second World War firing range, Great Chattenden Wood

A firing range in Great Chattenden Wood is visible in 1944 aerial photographs. By 1947 aerial photographs it was clearly disused.(1,2)

TQ 7518 7327. A firing range, probably dating to the first half of the twentieth century, located in Great Chattenden Wood to the north of the Chattenden Magazines (Monument 1481790) and to the west of Lodge Hill Camp (Monument 1545549), has been mapped from aerial photographs as part of the English Heritage: Hoo Peninsula Landscape Project. The site comprises two or three firing positions and butts within an enclosure 205m by 108m, linked to the Chattenden and Upnor Railway (Monument 1545587) by a short length of military tramway at TQ 7523 7310. The firing range was identified on a map of the Chattenden and Upnor Railway (also known as the Lodge Hill and Upnor Railway). It apparently dates to the period between the First and Second World wars. It was not shown on early Ordnance Survey maps, or on early maps of the Lodge Hill Depot or the First World War training grounds. It appeared at the edge of a plan of proposed changes to Lodge Hill and Chattenden Depot dated February 1937, and seems to have been in use during and shortly after the Second World War. (3-7)

The firing range was visible on aerial photographs taken between 1942 and 1952. It was demolished and replaced, in about 1961, by a Diving School Classroom and circular pond feature used for training. (8-11)

<1> English Heritage, 2013, Hoo Peninsula, Kent. Hoo Peninsula Historic Landscape Project (Bibliographic reference). SKE31432.

<2> Historic England, 2012, National Mapping Programme survey: Hoo Peninsula (Digital archive). SKE32442.

<3> Peter Higginbotham, 2000, The Workhouse (Website). SKE56079.

<4> REL 420/SE/2/0509 (Archive). SKE58964.

<5> Public Record Office, 1914, PRO: WO 78/4400 Chatham Field Defences 8.11.1914 (Archive). SKE58402.

<6> Royal Engineers plan 420/SE/2/0508: Proposed changes to Lodge Hill and Chattenden R.N.A. (Archive). SKE58956.

<7> 1942, NMR RAF/HLA/617 6099-6100 20-JUN-1942 (Photograph). SKE58965.

<8> USAAF?, 1944, NMR US/7GR/LOC348 3061 27-MAY-1944 (Photograph). SKE56106.

<9> RAF, 1947, NMR RAF/CPE/UK/1923 4084 16-JAN-1947 (Photograph). SKE56107.

<10> RAF, 1952, NMR RAF/58/856 3045 24-APR-1952 (Photograph). SKE56108.

<11> Lowe, J., Built Heritage Baseline Assessment in respect of Chattenden Barracks and Lodge (Unspecified Type). SKE58961.