MSO12470 - World War Two tank maintenance building at North Hill (Monument)

Summary

A concrete platform that once housed a possible tank maintenance building, with a further smaller building to the west.

Please read the Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record .

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

A wide concrete road leads from the tank loading ramps to a raised concrete platform 14 by 11 metres which housed a building. [1] The road suggests access for tanks to the building which may therefore have been used to maintain them. Two further buildings can be seen off the concrete hard standing on 1946 RAF aerial photographs. [2] Part of tank marshalling area MSO626. [3] SS 9546 4746 A Second World War tank marshalling area, visible as buildings, structures and roads, was mapped from aerial photographs taken in 1946. Located in Moor Wood on Minehead's North Hill, the features are associated with the extensive military training area and tank firing range that covered North Hill during the war. The tank marshalling area consists of a 57 metres long concrete road that leads through Moor Wood to a large area of roughly triangular concrete slab hard standing (centred on SS 9547 4744, about 61 metres east to west, 35 metres northnortheast to southsouthwest and 60 metres westnorthwest to eastsoutheast). The 9 metres wide concrete road leads north a further 50 metres at the far end of the hard standing area to a large rectangular building (SS 9552 4751) about 15.5 metres long westnorthwest to eastsoutheast and 10 metres wide northnortheast to southsouthwest. It has been suggested that this was a tank/vehicle maintenance building. 11 metres to the west of this building, a small building (SS 9550 4751) is about 8.3 metres long north to south and 5 metres wide east to west. Although the concrete building platforms, roads, ramps and hard standing area remained extant in 2001, the buildings were no longer visible in 1950. [4-9] The site of the two buildings is depicted on 2018 MasterMap data. [10]

Sources/Archives (10)

  • <1> Report: Riley, H. and Wilson-North, R.. 1997. The field archaeology of North Hill: An archaeological survey of the Exmoor National Park holding. B, p13, 26.
  • <2> Aerial photograph: 1946. RAF 106G\UK\1665 3009 and 4005.
  • <3> Verbal communication: Various. Various. Oral Information. Chris Webster, Somerset SMR, Somerset County Council, March 1998.
  • <4> Aerial photograph: Various. Various. Vertical Aerial Photograph. RAF 106G/UK/1655 4004-4005, 3007-8 (11 July 1946 ).
  • <5> Aerial photograph: Various. Various. Vertical Aerial Photograph. RAF 541/544 3004-3005 (1 June 1950).
  • <6> Aerial photograph: Various. Various. Vertical Aerial Photograph. NMR SS 9547/8 21106/04 (9 February 2001).
  • <7> Website: Various. Various. World Wide Web page. P Batchelor (2005) "American tanks" http://www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/exmoor/batchelorsummary1.htm.
  • <8> Website: Various. Various. World Wide Web page. D Parsons 2005 "War Years, North Hill"http://www.somerset.gov.uk/Archives/exmoor/parsonssummary2.htm.
  • <9> Archive: 2007-2009. Exmoor National Park NMP: SS 94 NE. MD002175.
  • <10>XY Map: Ordnance Survey. 2018. MasterMap. [Mapped features: #46197 ; #46198 ]

External Links (0)

Other Statuses/References

  • Local List Status (Candidate)
  • National Park: Exmoor National Park
  • Somerset SMR PRN: 35671

Map

Location

Grid reference Centred SS 9551 4751 (33m by 17m) (Aerial survey)
Map sheet SS94NE
Civil Parish MINEHEAD WITHOUT, WEST SOMERSET, SOMERSET

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (2)

Record last edited

Aug 17 2020 12:24PM

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