Monument record MDO45288 - Second World War radio telegraphy station, Little Down, Tarrant Monkton

A Second World War radio telegraphy station is visible on Little Down, Tarrant Monkton, on 1940s aerial photographs, probably associated with Tarrant Rushton Airfield. The features were digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM project. The site had been demolished by 1953, when the land was being returned to agriculture. The site comprises (from east to west) a rectangular transformer plinth and four self-supporting radio towers which are dispersed in an L-shape to the north and west of a rectangular building. The building was probably used for Wireless Telegraphy (WT) and/ or Radio Telephony (RT). The site may have been operated by the RAF, in which case it is probably associated with RAF Tarrant Rushton which is situated 3km to the south-west.

A Second World War wireless station is visible as assorted structures on aerial photographs taken in 1947 but the site had been demolished by 1953, when the land was being returned to agriculture. The site is centred at ST 9557 0823 and comprises (from east to west): a rectangular transformer plinth, four self-supporting radio towers and a rectangular WT / RT building.

The building was was centred at ST 9560 0826, was orientated north / south and measured 20m long by 6m wide. It was probably used for Wireless Telegraphy (WT) and / or Radio Telephony (RT). The radio towers are dispersed in an L-shape to its north and west at: ST 9557 0826, ST 9557 0829, ST 9560 0829 and ST 9563 0829. Their shadows suggest they were around 60 to 70ft tall. The square transformer plinth was situated 41m to its south-west, at ST 9557 0822, and measured circa 8m square.

The site may have been operated by the RAF, in which case it is probably associated with RAF Tarrant Rushton which is situated 3km to the south-west (see ST 90 NW 128 / UID: 1430476). <1>

A Second World War radio telegraphy station is visible on Little Down, Tarrant Monkton, on 1940s aerial photographs <2>. The features comprise a rectangular building with a possible mound or circular earthwork at its southwest corner, possibly the base for a transmitter? Four radio towers are also visible, forming an L-shape to the west and north of the rectangular building. A small rectangular structure just over 40m to the southwest of the group is of uncertain function but may be a small air raid shelter - structures of similar form and character are visible dispersed across Tarrant Rushton Airfield to the south and amongst the ancillary camps associated with it. The radio telegraphy station may also be associated with Tarrant Rushton Airfield.

The features were digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM project.

<1> Bishop, Sharon, 2009, Tarrant Launceston 15 & Environs. Aerial Photograph Survey & Analysis (Unpublished document). SDO12459.

<1.1> Royal Air Force, 11-APR-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1975 4002-4003 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19318.

<1.2> Royal Air Force, 20-APR-1953, RAF/58/1090 F21 0128-0129 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19319.

<1.3> Thomas, Roger J C, Oral: Roger J C Thomas, Military Support Officer, English Heritage (York Office) (Verbal communication). SDO19183.

<2> Royal Air Force, 11-APR-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1975 RS 4002 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19203.

<3> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1479057 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Nov 22 2023 1:41PM