Monument record MWX4739 - Second World War gun emplacements and barbed wire enclosures, Langton Matravers

Second World War gun emplacement and two barbed wire enclosures, Langton Matravers. The western enclosure is 112m across and surrounds a small square structure, possibly a pillbox. The eastern enclosure is ovoid and 45m across. Both are defined by barbed wire fencing visible as dark lines on aerial photographs taken in 1945.

Second World War gun emplacement and two barbed wire enclosures, Langton Matravers. The western enclosure is 112m across and surrounds a small square structure, possibly a pillbox. The eastern enclosure is ovoid and 45m across. Both are defined by barbed wire fencing visible as dark lines on aerial photographs taken in 1945 (2). They enclose two separate areas of cliff-top above Dancing Ledge and were digitally plotted during the South West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset).

The features had previously been misinterpreted as having been partially quarried or eroded away on the coast at Langton Matravers, visible on a 1940s AP, one is oval in shape with one half missing the other is rectangular and right on the shoreline (1)

<1> Anon, 1940, 1940s APs, AP40_399000E_77000N.tif (Digital archive). SWX8819.

<2> Royal Air Force, 20-MAR-1945, RAF 106G/LA187 3004-5 (Aerial Photograph). SDO12899.

Record last edited

Sep 6 2024 4:39PM