Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Location

Full description

South side of Little Eye.
Pill box or other wartime structure, of concrete and brick. Roof shows how the concrete slabs were set on corrugated iron. Dug into side of hill.
Other traces of buildings on summit.
E. Rose (NAU), 15 April 1980.

29 May 1994.
No change, except perhaps a little more eroded out of the hillside.
E. Rose (NAU).

See (S1) in file, which adds:
Quite rare 1940/41 type 20 pillbox. Heavy machine gun emplacement designed to enfilade the salt marshes.
Survey No. D2-3.
D.Walker (NLA), July 1996.

October 2002. Norfolk NMP.
A group of World War Two military defences on Little Eye visible on RAF aerial photographs from 1940 (S2), 1946 (S3) and 1952 (S4). The type 20 pillbox is 5m across and located at TG 0780 4434. To the north of this is an L-shaped structure of unknown military function, at TG 0788 4432 and measuring 10m by 6m. A third structure is visible at TG 0788 4432, rectangular in shape and measuring 9m by 6m. The site has three angular earthwork practice trenches centred on TG 0781 4434. Another earthwork feature is located at TG 0784 4436. It appears to be an embanked circular structure, measuring 8.5m in diameter. The feature has a hollow centre and is surrounded by a ditch. This feature is quite clear on the 1940 aerial photographs (S2) and may be an emplacement of some sort. Other earthworks include a zigzag section of bank, 3m across, running from TG 0790 4436 to TG 0793 4433.
On the 1940 aerial photographs several linear boundaries or structures appear to encircle and enclose the site. This is prior to the scaffolding (NHER 27807) that was constructed along the coastline at a later date during World War Two. The linears may be fencing or lines of barbed wire. They are two L-shaped sections covering the seaward side of the site from TG 0781 4441 to TG 0783 4444 and TG 0786 4443 to TG 0790 4436. To the south of this encircling the slight hill is an ‘n’-shaped section from TG 0782 4436 to TG 0790 4434. To the south of the site is another possible curvilinear from TG 0781 4432. Traces of the two southern lines can still be seen in the 1946 aerial photographs (S3), although the northern one is no longer visible and the main scaffolding defence in its place.
S. Massey (NMP), 21 March 2003.

December 2003. Visit.
No change, except rabbit disturbance of hill.
E. Rose (NLA), 8 December 2003.

May-November 2004. Norfolk Rapid Coastal Zone Archaeological Survey.
Inter-tidal survey (Environmental Zone 12), Context 96:
A Second World War defensive position. Features observed included a pillbox (possibly a variation on type 28), an anti-tank trench, an anti-tank wall and several pits (possibly silted up gun positions or weapons pits).
See assessment report (S5) for further details.
The associated archive has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.421).
J. Allen (NLA), 22 April 2005. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 20 July 2019.

Monument Types

• ANTI TANK DITCH (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
• ANTI TANK WALL (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
• BEACH DEFENCE (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
• GUN EMPLACEMENT (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
• PILLBOX (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
• PIT (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
• PRACTICE TRENCH (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
• STRUCTURE (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
• WEAPONS PIT (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status - none

Sources and further reading

Related records - none

Find out more...

• Parish Summary: Salthouse (Parish Summary)