Monument record MWX3978 - Second World War heavy anti aircraft battery, Barrow Camp, Camp Road, Wyke Regis, Weymouth

The four 3.7-inch static gun emplacements were sunk into the ground. In 1941 it had been manned by 329 Battery of the 104th Royal Artillery Regiment. A housing estate covered most of the site by 2003. A Second World War heavy anti aircraft battery and associated ancillary buildings and structures are visible on 1940's aerial photographs of Wyke Regis. The battery comprised of four 3.7-inch static gun emplacements which were sunk into the ground. Other associated features included accomodation blocks and storage buildings. A barbed wire enclosure also partially enclosed the site for a period during the early part of the War.

Site of heavy anti aircraft battery. Constructed during World War II, probably between 1940-41, within part of an earlier military tented site, known as 'Barrow Camp'. The HAA site included four gun emplacements arranged in an arc around a control centre (situated on the north side). There was also an ammunition storage area to the west. This HAA site formed part of a wider group which were designed to protect Portland Harbour and its associated installations from airborne attack. The installations at this site were sunk into the ground, on account of the plateau-like hilltop, where built-up features would have been clearly visible from the air and vulnerable to attack. To the north of the battery site was an area of Nissan Huts which were removed in the 1960s and are now occupied by housing blocks 1-15 Barrow Rise.

The site lies under residential development. The battery itself survives only very partially as visible remains, as much of the area has been built over or landscaped, the central control area has been infilled and it is now overlain by the properties 1-7 Cunningham Close. The four gun emplacements have also been infilled and are no longer visible as upstanding remains. The north-east example is overlain by the block 16-19 Cunningham Close, while the east example is overlain by residential blocks 20-24 and 25-31 Cunningham Close. The example to the south west lies on open ground (to the west of residential block 25-31 Cunningham Close). There is a vent set within concrete, apparently over the western side of the gun emplacement. The W example is partly situated on open ground (to the west) and partly overlain by a new access road (which crosses over part of the eastern side). The evaluation of August 2003 failed to find any trace of this feature. The landscaping and the building of houses since 1958 has buried or destroyed most of this site. The few remaining features are likely to disappear under future development. <4>

The area comprises part of a former World War II military camp. Former structures, including a buried gun-emplacement and a sunken concrete building can be discerned. An Evaluation undertaken in 2003 was wholly negative. <6>

A Second World War heavy anti aircraft battery and associated ancillary buildings and structures are visible on 1940's aerial photographs of Wyke Regis <8-11>. The battery comprised of four 3.7-inch static gun emplacements which were sunk into the ground. Other associated features included accomodation blocks and storage buildings. A barbed wire enclosure also partially enclosed the site for a period during the early part of the War. These features were digitally plotted during the South West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset). They are not visible on the most recent comprehensive aerial images available to the project, most of it having been built over by a modern housing estate.

Lucas, R N, 1971, Barrow Camp (Unpublished document). SDO21185.

<1> Council for British Archaeology, 1995, Defence of Britain Project (Digital archive). SWX5.

<2> Council for British Archaeology, 2003, Defence of Britain Project Database (Machine readable data file). SDO128.

<3> Council for British Archaeology, 2006, Defence of Britain Project Archive DEB01 (Excavation archive). SDO17227.

<4> English Heritage, English Heritage Alternative Action Report (Scheduling record). SDO18279.

<5> Dobinson, C S, 1996, Twentieth century fortifications in England, volume 1. Anti-aircraft artillery: England's air defence gunsites, 1914-46, 439 (Monograph). SDO11874.

<6> Robinson, S, 2003, An Archaeological Evaluation for a proposed residential development on land at Barrow Rise, Wyke Regis, Weymouth (Unpublished document). SWX8659.

<7> Royal Air Force, 24-JAN-1942, RAF/S740 5005-6 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13100.

<8> Royal Air Force, 24-JAN-1942, RAF/S740 5007-8 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13103.

<9> Royal Air Force, 04-NOV-1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1821 5450-51 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13105.

<10> Royal Air Force, 30-AUG-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/2273 5176-77 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13099.

<11> Royal Air Force, 04-NOV-1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1821 5449-50 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13097.

<12> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1413277 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 19 2024 12:05PM