Monument record MWX43067 - Possible WWII machine gun position in Westbere

Summary

A walled structure, interpreted as a machine gun position, visible on early 1940s aerial photographs. It appears to have been removed by 1945.

Location

Grid reference TR 19284 60893 (point)
Map sheet TR16SE
District CANTERBURY, KENT
Civil Parish WESTBERE, CANTERBURY, KENT

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

A walled structure visible sited adjacent to the railway line on early 1940s RAF vertical aerial photographs [1]. The structure is unroofed and C-shaped in plan, open on the northern side, and measured 5m E-W x 4m N-S. It had apparently been removed by July 1945, as it is not visible on RAF vertical aerial photographs of this date [2]. Its function is unclear but it may be a wall sheltering a machine gun position, probably covering the railway line. A similar feature (MWX43066) lies 70m to the west, also sited on the edge of the railway, and was presumably part of the same defensive scheme.

A transcription of the features recorded from aerial photography exists within a GIS layer held by this HER [3].


<3> Wessex Archaeology, 2009-10, South-East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - Aerial Photographic Transcriptions (Digital archive). SWX15705.

<3> Wessex Archaeology, 2011, South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - (SE RCZAS) Phase 1: National Mapping Programme Report (Unpublished document). SKE25955.

<3> Cornwall Council Historic Environment Projects and Gloucestershire County Council, 2011, South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Components 1&2: Results of NMP Mapping (Unpublished document). SKE25954.

Sources/Archives (3)

  • <3> Unpublished document: Cornwall Council Historic Environment Projects and Gloucestershire County Council. 2011. South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Components 1&2: Results of NMP Mapping.
  • <3> Unpublished document: Wessex Archaeology. 2011. South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - (SE RCZAS) Phase 1: National Mapping Programme Report.
  • <3> Digital archive: Wessex Archaeology. 2009-10. South-East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - Aerial Photographic Transcriptions.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (1)

  • Non-Intrusive Event: South-East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Ref: 71330) (EWX10065)

Record last edited

Aug 12 2013 3:24PM