Record Details
| NHER Number: | 45066 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | Sites of World War Two defences surrounding Potter Heigham Bridge |
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Summary
World War Two defences surrounding the river crossing at Potter Heigham Bridge (NHER 8525) are visible as structures and earthworks on 1940s aerial photographs. The crossing would have been an important tactical location in the event of an invasion. The defences mainly comprised barbed wire or similar material forming a perimeter around both the road and rail bridges, and also the surrounding buildings and boatyard. A bibliographic source records several spigot mortar emplacements in this area, and a pit and a small structure visible on the aerial photographs may be associated with these. A road block may also be visible. No trace of the defences is visible on more recent aerial photographs of the area.
Images - none
Location
| Grid Reference: | TG 4195 1848 |
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| Map Sheet: | TG41NW |
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| Parish: | POTTER HEIGHAM, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
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| REPPS WITH BASTWICK, GREAT YARMOUTH, NORFOLK |
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Full description
September 2006. Norfolk NMP.
World War Two defences are visible as structures and earthworks on aerial photographs (S1)-(S3), centred around TG 4197 1848. They surrounded the road and rail crossings over the River Thurne at Potter Heigham, clearly an important tactical position in the event of an invasion. The most obvious element of the defences was a perimeter barrier of barbed wire or similar material. This enclosed not only the river crossings, but also the adjacent buildings and boat yard. On aerial photographs taken in 1944 (S2), a possible road block, perhaps of wire, is visible to the south of the road bridge (NHER 8525), at TG 4206 1841. A pit or area of disturbed ground (at TG 4204 1838) and a small structure (at TG 4210 1840) could each equate to one of the four spigot mortar emplacements recorded in this area in Bird 1999 (S4). A further structure or similar feature is vaguely visible at TG 4183 1834 but is not clear enough to have been mapped. None of the defences is visible on more recent aerial photographs of the area, e.g. (S5).
S. Tremlett (NMP), 25 September 2006.
Monument Types
- BARBED WIRE OBSTRUCTION (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- PIT (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- ROADBLOCK? (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- ROADBLOCK? (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- SPIGOT MORTAR EMPLACEMENT (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- STRUCTURE (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
Associated Finds - none
Protected Status - none
Sources and further reading
| <S1> | Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1942. RAF FNO/32 6090 02-JUL-1942 (NMR). |
| <S2> | Vertical Aerial Photograph: USAAF. 1944. US/7PH/GP/LOC298 5017-8 20-APR-1944 (NMR). |
| <S3> | Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1946. RAF 106G/UK/1634 5054-5 09-JUL-1946 (NHER TG 4217A, TG 4118A). |
| <S4> | Monograph: Bird, C.. 1999. Silent sentinels: the story of Norfolk's fixed defences during the twentieth century.. p 78. |
| <S5> | Vertical Aerial Photograph: ADAS. 1995. ADAS 630 196-7 26-MAY-1995 (BA). |
Related records - none
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