Monument record MDO43099 - Possible Second World War rifle range, Sydling St Nicholas

The remains of a disused rifle range are visible as earthworks and structures on 1940s aerial photographs to the northeast of Sydling St Nicholas. The rifle range is modern, possibly of Second World War, date. The features were digitally plotted during the Dorset Upper Frome AIM project.

The remains of a disused rifle range are visible as earthworks and structures on 1940s aerial photographs to the northeast of Sydling St Nicholas (1, 2). The features comprise of two rows of parallel rectilinear structures linked by perimeter roads and trackways. The entrance to the range is from the road to the south. The structures and perimeter roads appear still fresh in an April 1945 aerial photograph and may still be in use (1). They are still extant in an April 1947 aerial photograph but, though indistinct, display some suggestion of disuse by this time (2). The firing range post-dates the OS 2nd Edition map, indicating a modern date, and may be a First or Second World War installation. The current state of use indicated in April 1945 suggests probably Second World War (1).

The features were digitally plotted during the Dorset Upper Frome AIM project.

The features are generally speaking no longer visible on Google Earth imagery, apart from the entrance road and the southernmost perimeter road, visible as an earthwork. The northernmost perimeter road is visible as a faint cropmark on 2017 Google Earth imagery (3).

<1> Royal Air Force, 15-APR-45, RAF/106G/LA/218 FP 1037 (Aerial Photograph). SDO17067.

<2> Royal Air Force, 11-APR-47, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FS 2379-80 (Aerial Photograph). SDO17066.

<3> Google Earth, xx-xx-2017, Google Earth imagery 2017 (Aerial Photograph). SDO16871.

Record last edited

Jun 1 2021 12:30PM