Monument record MDO45323 - Second World War military installation on Crichel Down, Tarrant Monkton

A possible Second World War military installation is visible on aerial photographs taken in 1947 but most of the component huts had been demolished by 1953, when the land was being returned to agriculture. The site comprises several pairs of huts dispersed over a large L-shaped area of scrub on Crichel Down. The area extends roughly east / west for 490m and north / south for 380m. The site may have had a training function for Blandford Camp, which is situated 3km to the west, or could have been used for additional accommodation or as a dump for storing ammunition or supplies.

A possible Second World War military installation is visible on aerial photographs taken in 1947 but most of the component huts had been demolished by 1953, when the land was being returned to agriculture. The site is centred at ST 9652 0946 and comprises several pairs of huts dispersed over a large L-shaped area of scrub on Crichel Down. The area extends roughly east / west for 490m and north / south for 380m, between ST 9620 0940, ST 9670 0933 and ST 9679 0965. The site may have had a training function for Blandford Camp, which is situated 3km to the west, or could have been used for additional accommodation or as a dump for storing ammunition or supplies. <1-2>

<1> Royal Air Force, 17-JAN-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1934 5148-5149 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19253.

<2> Royal Air Force, 20-APR-1953, NMR RAF/58/1090 F21 0127-0128 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19254.

<3> Bishop, Sharon, 2009, Tarrant Launceston 15 & Environs. Aerial Photograph Survey & Analysis, Object Number: MD002384 (Unpublished document). SDO12459.

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1479116 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jan 25 2023 1:50PM