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Monument details

HER Number:TR 36 SW 140
Type of record:Monument
Name:COASTAL BATTERY, Pegwell Bay

Summary

Bethlehem Battery - 6in breech-loading guns. Situated directly south of Great Cliffsend Farm House, Pegwell Bay and visible in military aerial photographs.

Grid Reference:TR 3413 6404
Map Sheet:TR36SW
Parish:MINSTER, THANET, KENT

Monument Types

  • ANTI AIRCRAFT GUN EMPLACEMENT (Modern - 1939 AD to 1942 AD)
  • BANK (EARTHWORK) (Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
  • BARBED WIRE ENTANGLEMENT (Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
  • COASTAL BATTERY (Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
  • MACHINE GUN POST (Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
  • MILITARY BUILDING (Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
  • NISSEN HUT (Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
  • PATH (Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
  • SLIT TRENCH (Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
  • MACHINE GUN POST (Modern - 1942 AD to 1945 AD)
  • MILITARY BUILDING (Modern - 1942 AD to 1945 AD)

Full description

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Cliffs End, W of Ramsgate.Bethlehem Battery - 6in breech-loading guns.

The anti-aircraft battery was mapped from military aerial photographs during the SE Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey. The battery is situated directly south of Great Cliffsend Farm House, Pegwell Bay, which is around 100m to the east of the originally recorded position for the site within this record.

The battery is first visible on photographs taken in February 1941 [1], where a variety of military features and structures are apparent located within a barbed wire enclosure.

One anti-aircraft gun emplacement is evident towards the north of the complex, comprising a sub-square cut, measuring 9m sqaured, which is almost entirely surrounded by a wall that has been banked up. Inside the cut is a circular concrete structure on which the gun would have been attached. A Nissen hut has also been constructed by Feb 1941 [1] measuring 12.6m by 5.7m and is surrounded by banking on all sides leaving gaps for the entrances at either end. Beside the Nissen hut is a rectangular structure measuring 7m by 6m. Other rectangular structures are visible, but seem more temporary because by May 1942 [2], the position, size and occurrence of these buildings has changed. To the south of the anti-aircraft gun emplacement are two circular gun pits located beside one another. They appear to have been constructed using sandbags and have internal diameters of 3m. In the NE and SW corners of the enclosure are two L-shaped slit trenches and corresponding banks. The NE feature measures almost 10m in total and the SW trench measures almost 11.5m. Surrounding the battery on three sides is a barbed wire length measuring 263m in total.

By May 1942 [2] the anti-aircraft emplacement has been backfilled and is out of use, whereas a further two gun pits have been constructed on either side of where the gun emplacement formerly stood. These appear to have earth banks and have internal diameters of 1.5m.

Other than the anti-aircraft gun emplacement and the temporary military buildings that were removed or backfilled by May 1942 [2], the remaining features are all dismantled or gone by January 1946 [3].


Bennett, D., 1977, A Handbook of Kent's Defences 1540-1945 (Monograph). SKE7811.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref. Source description
---Monograph: Bennett, D.. 1977. A Handbook of Kent's Defences 1540-1945.