Monument record MDO41394 - Modern military camp, Parley Common,West Parley

A probable modern military camp on Parley Common is visible on 1940s aerial photographs. Features comprise structures, roads and earthworks associated with probable military buildings, tents and dug-outs, possibly weapons pits or use as storage. The features were digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

A probable modern military camp on Parley Common is visible on 1940s aerial photographs (1-3).

Features comprise orderly groups of rectangular buildings with some additional outlying buildings, laid out around a network of probably already existing, roads, with some additional trackways and hard standing areas.

Additional to the rectangular buildings are closely set groups of circular tented structures and outlying earthworks or dug-outs, which may be weapons pits, or for storage. The whole forms a loosely spaced arrangement of facilities 150m east of Parley Barrow (MDO6228). The main artery running from north to south through the centre of the site is what is now Chine Road. There is a particularly concentrated grouping around Mag's Barrow (MDO6230). A 1945 aerial photograph shows a small sub-circular earthwork on the top of Mag's Barrow that may also be modern military in origin and associated with the wider camp. Through this area of the camp, and running alongside the west side of Mag's Barrow, is a probable post medieval field boundary (MDO41395) that may have been modified as part of the camp arrangement as it appears to be cut through in numerous places, giving the appearance of a line of small individual banks or trees.

The camp appears to already be in some decline or disuse by March 1945, when the removal of some of the tented structures appears to have occurred, leaving only the imprints of the tent bases. Also there are some rectangular patches of bared ground indicating the probable removal of former structures or buildings (1). Faint but undefineable features visible in 1945 indicate that the camp was originally much more extensive.

By December 1946 all the buildings are gone and the earthworks are still faintly visible but already overgrown (4).

The site is under housing on current Google Earth imagery and the features are no longer visible. They were digitally plotted from 1940s aerial photographs by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

<1> Royal Air Force, 20-MAR-45, RAF/106G/LA/187 RS 4043-4 (Aerial Photograph). SDO16095.

<2> Royal Air Force, 20-OCT-45, RAF/106G/T/11 V 5019-20 (Aerial Photograph). SDO16118.

<3> Royal Air Force, 28-MAY-47, RAF/CPE/UK/2102 RS 4290-1 (Aerial Photograph). SDO16116.

<4> Royal Air Force, 12-DEC-46, RAF/CPE/UK/1893 RS 4165-6 (Aerial Photograph). SDO16119.

Record last edited

May 11 2022 11:09AM