Exploring Kent's Past

It should not be assumed that this site is publicly accessible and it may be on private property. Do not trespass.

Monument details

Summary

Second World War coastal defences at North Foreland, comprising barbed wire, gunpits, slit trenching and pillboxes, visible from military aerial photographs.

Monument Types

• MILITARY BUILDING (Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
• BANK (EARTHWORK) (Modern - 1941 AD to 1946 AD)
• BARBED WIRE ENTANGLEMENT (Modern - 1941 AD to 1945 AD)
• PILLBOX (Modern - 1941 AD to 1945 AD)
• SLIT TRENCH (Modern - 1941 AD to 1945 AD)
• TRENCH (Modern - 1941 AD to 1945 AD)

Full description

If you do not understand anything on this page please contact us.

Second World War coastal defences on the golf course at Joss Bay, located behind a length of beach scaffolding and barbed wire (MWX43004) and comprise barbed wire, gun pits, slit trenching and pillboxes. These features have been mapped from military aerial photographs taken in 1942.

Enclosed on three sides by barbed wire, the slit trenching and associated banks (approximately 43m in length) run perpendicular to the beach front, at 639760.88E, 170220.60N. Six structures relating to military activity are apparent within the monument polygon, two of which are already recorded pillboxes (Mke39699 and Mke 39700) but whose positions appear to be inaccurate. Beside the southerly pillbox there is a gun pit comprising a circular ditch (measuring approximately 2m in diameter) with a bank of material surrounding it, along with associated slit trenches. Footpaths are also present around this monument but are mainly associated with the structures.

These features form part of Kent's coastal defences, and are particularly prevalent in locations where there is easy access from the beach onto the roads, making these defensive measures extremely important.

The features are mapped from an aerial photograph taken in May 1942 [1]. By April 1946 most of the buildings and all the barbed wire have been removed, however the slit trenches and gun pits still look intact although are probably no longer in use [2]. Apart from one structure on the path to the beach, the remaining features are all gone by April 1950 [3].

The military features are located on the golf course at Joss Bay, but there is no evidence on recent aerial photographs taken by the Channel Coastal Observatory in 2001 [4] of any Second World War military features, except one building that appears to have been modified or rebuilt and this is located on the path down to the beach, as mentioned above.

A transcription of the features recorded from aerial photography exists within a GIS layer held by this HER [5].

<4> Aerial Photographs held by the Channel Coastal Observatory, CCO 2001/TR3970se (Photograph). SWX15703.

<5> Wessex Archaeology, 2009-10, South-East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - Aerial Photographic Transcriptions (Digital archive). SWX15705.

<5> Wessex Archaeology, 2011, South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - (SE RCZAS) Phase 1: National Mapping Programme Report (Unpublished document). SKE25955.

<5> Cornwall Council Historic Environment Projects and Gloucestershire County Council, 2011, South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Components 1&2: Results of NMP Mapping (Unpublished document). SKE25954.

Sources and further reading

Related records