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Monument details
| HER Number: | MWX43101 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | WWII barbed wire impeding access from Ramsgate esplanade up the cliff to Ramsgate town |
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Summary
WWII military barbed wire impeding access from Ramsgate esplanade up the cliff to Ramsgate town, that increased through the first years of the war. Visible in aerial photographs.
| Grid Reference: | TR 38990 65332 |
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| Map Sheet: | TR36NE |
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| Parish: | RAMSGATE, THANET, KENT |
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Monument Types
- BARBED WIRE ENTANGLEMENT (Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- BANK (EARTHWORK) (Modern - 1942 AD to 1945 AD)
- SLIT TRENCH (Modern - 1942 AD to 1945 AD)
Full description
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WWII military features impeding access from Ramsgate esplanade up the cliff to Ramsgate town, visible in aerial photographs taken in 1941 and 1942.
A lift is visible in historic mapping from 1938 [1] that connects Ramsgate esplanade to the town above. This lift area was defended during WWII to prevent access up to the town. Two single lengths of barbed wire are visible on either side of the top of the lift in February 1941 [2], but by May 1942 [3] more barbed wire has been added, entirely surrounding the top of the lift, and two lengths of barbed wire has been introduced at the bottom of the lift. A short slit trench, measuring 8m long, and associated bank is also apparent by May 1942 at the corner of the barbed wire at the top of the cliff. All of these features are gone by April 1946 [4].
A transcription of the features recorded from aerial photography exists within a GIS layer held by this HER [5].
<1> Ordnance Survey, 1928-1947, Ordnance Survey 1:2500 4th edition 1928-1947, 18TR3865, 1938 (Map). Ske12644.
<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2011, South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - (SE RCZAS) Phase 1: National Mapping Programme Report (Unpublished document).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
| Cross-ref.
| Source description | | <1> | Map: Ordnance Survey. 1928-1947. Ordnance Survey 1:2500 4th edition 1928-1947. 18TR3865, 1938. |
| <5> | Unpublished document: 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. |
| <5> | Unpublished document: Wessex Archaeology. 2011. South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - (SE RCZAS) Phase 1: National Mapping Programme Report. |
| <5> | Digital archive: Wessex Archaeology. 2009-10. South-East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - Aerial Photographic Transcriptions. |
