NHER 63351 (Monument record) - Remains of surface air raid shelters and other buildings associated with Downham Market airfield

A group of military buildings associated with Downham Market airfield (NHER 2455) are visible on aerial photographs taken in 1946. These lay to the west and south of an existing wood known as Sheep Hill Plantation. It appears that most were probably Nissen hut-type structures and it is likely that they were removed not long after the end of World War Two – none being shown on an Ordnance Survey Six-inch map published in 1952 (S1). It is clear from subsequent mapping that the areas previously occupied by the military buildings were planted with trees, expanding Sheep Hill Plantation to it present extent.
See NHERs 65670 and 66474-66483 for details of the other satellite sites associated with the World War Two airfield.
P. Watkins (HES), 20 November 2022.

April 2019. Casual Observation.
In April 2019 a member of the public observed four apparently very similar 'roofless structures' at this location and submitted photographs for identification (S2). The brick-built structures shown in the photographs have been identified as the remains of surface air raid shelters, confirming that they were associated with the World War Two site. It is clear from the photographs that these remains had been exposed by the felling of large numbers of trees within Sheep Hill Plantation. At least three of the structures noted can be seen on recent aerial imagery such as (S3) and (S4); two at the southern end of the site and one midway along its western edge. The former can be seen clearly on the 1946 photographs. The remains of concrete footings associated with a number of the other military buildings also visible on the recent imagery. All of the surviving structural remains appear to lie within the areas where buildings can be seen on the 1946 photographs – there is no evidence that any were erected within Sheep Hill Plantation itself.
The present condition of the structural remains at this site is unclear. They are increasingly difficult to discern on subsequent aerial imagery, being obscured by trees and other vegetation.
H. Hamilton (HES), 18 April 2019. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 20 November 2022.