Target Railway C and earthworks, Bossington Hill, Holnicote Estate

Record ID:  115523 / MNA167636
Record type:  Monument
Protected Status: None Recorded
NT Property:  Holnicote Estate; South West
Civil Parish:  Selworthy; West Somerset; Somerset
Grid Reference:  SS 9106 4815
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Summary

Remains of a Second World War target railway on Bossington Hill which was part of the World War II tank training ranges.

Identification Images (0)

Monument Types

  • TARGET RAILWAY (Mid 20th C - 1940 AD to 1945 AD)

Description

Remains of a target railway on Bossington Hill which was part of the World War II tank training ranges.There is a substantial bank, two mounds and a small cast-iron turntable. The bank is 275m x 20m and 2.5m high, it protected the railway on which the target ran, the latter was fired on from the south. The mounds are at each end of the bank. The western one is 40m x 30m and 3.5m high. There are also several concrete slabs around, these may have been a building which housed the wagons. The turntable is just north of the mound, 2m diameter. The eastern mound is 30m x 25m and 5m high. There is the remains of an entrance to the north. An area of concrete has a metal door and frame. The associated tank triangle is site 115538. Condition: good. (1)

The target railway was visible on historical aerial photographs and mapped as part of the Severn Estuary RCZAS mapping project. Further information, sources and photograph references are available in the Exmoor National Park HER record MSO8096. (2)

References

  • SNA69537 - Report: Crowther, S and Dickson, A. 2008. Severn Estuary Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey: National Mapping Programme. 1411357.

  • SNA69539 - Collection: Exmoor National Park Authority. Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record (HER). MSO8096.

  • SZN48220 - Unpublished document: Isabel Richardson. 2001. Holnicote Estate Archaeological Survey, Somerset. 115523.

Designations

None Recorded

Other Statuses and References

  • HER/SMR Reference (External) (Exmoor NP HER): MSO8096
  • National Park (Exmoor)

Associated Events

  • ENA3149 - Field Survey, Archaeological Survey of the Holnicote Estate 2001
  • ENA10529 - Heritage Assessment, Severn Estuary Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey: National Mapping Programme

Associated Finds

None Recorded

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