NHER 43301 (Monument record) - World War Two structures at fire station and Ferryside County Council offices, Southtown

February 2006. Norfolk NMP.
Probable World War Two civil defence structures and buildings are visible extant on aerial photographs taken in 1944-5 (S1)-(S3), centred at TG 5252 0550. They were located in the garden of Ferryside, Southtown, a Victorian private house shown on the Ordnance Survey 2nd edition 25 inch map (S4) and now occupied by County Council offices, including Great Yarmouth register office. Its garden is now occupied by a fire station. A large rectangular structure, built in the garden (at TG 5251 0551) during 1944 (compare (S1) and (S2)) may have been a forerunner of the modern fire station as it occupies the same site. A possible mast or similar structure, positioned on a concrete base, is visible immediately to its southeast in 1945 (S3). A rectilinear building located further to the east and sited just outside Ferryside (at TG 5254 0549) was probably a surface air raid shelter. This also appears to have been constructed during 1944, as it is not visible on aerial photographs taken in May of that year (S5), which seems rather late for this type of feature. It was perhaps camouflaged when it was first built (see (S1)) and was still standing in 1948 (S6)-(S7).

No trace of the structures is visible on recent consulted aerial photographs of the site, for example (S8).
S. Tremlett (NMP), 16 February 2006.