NHER 38626 (Monument record) - Site of World War Two coastal defences

May 2004. Norfolk NMP.
A group of World War Two coastal defences, including pillboxes, probable gun emplacements and a slit trench surrounded by an enclosure of beach scaffolding, are located along the cliff top at Weybourne and visible on aerial photographs (S1-3). The site is centred on TG 1109 4371 and is located to the immediate east of the main Weybourne Anti-Aircraft Training Camp (NHER 11335). All of these structures appears to be still under construction in the 1940 (S1). The fragmentary remains of some of these structures may have been previously recorded individually under the numbers NHER 19437-9, 32516 and 32503-4. The problems of inaccurate intertidal and coastal grid references within some records has made it hard to match up the mapped sites with previously recorded military
The main component of the site is a two large square structures centred on TG 1109 4372. These are both between 5-6m across. These would appear to be pillboxes or similar gun emplacements. These two structures appear to be sitting on either end of a rectangular concrete platform. The pillbox recorded to the north east under NHER 32503 is likely to be one of thes structures that has been moved due to cliff erosion and storm events. Two smaller rectangular structures are also visible on the eastern end of this platform. A short section of zigzag slit trench is located to the immediate south of these defences.
To the north west of this group are two possible conjoined structures at TG 1108 4373. The northern component has the appearance of 4m wide square structure, linked to a 6m long rectangular structure or platform. It is not possible to discern any greater detail of these structures as they are only clearly visible on the 1946 aerial photographs (S3), by which point that they are already partially obscured by beach material. A possible polygonal pillbox is also visible in 1946 at TG 1112 4370, approximately 5m across. The structure is not particularly clear which may indicate that it has been either covered or camouflaged.
An enclosure of beach scaffolding, 80m long and 40m deep, has been erected in 1941 along the beach in front of these defences (S2). This joins up further sections of scaffolding and barbed wire to the west associated with the main Weybourne Camp defences, see NHER 11335 for details.
(S1-3)
S. Massey (NMP), 10 May 2004.