Situated on a rocky headland, Lenan Head Fort (sometimes spelt Leenan) is a British built coastal artillery battery from the late 19th Century. Standing isolated for over 120 years, the Victorian site was only in use for less than 40 years, but stood proudly on the cusp of the Atlantic protecting the deep-water… Read More »Site Visit – Lenan Head Fort, County Donegal
The Defence Area (Number 14) at Cuckmere Haven is still a fascinating place to explore; even 76 years after construction almost all the defences still exist and the landscape is relatively unchanged. Identified in the German plans for Operation Sea Lion, the flood basin running inland from Cuckmere Haven would… Read More »Site Visit – Defence Area 14, Cuckmere Haven
Inside the old mill (circa 1835) on the Redhall (Red Hall) estate just outside Ballycarry lie a remarkable secret from WW2. During the war, as huge swathes of American troops descended on Northern Ireland, large volumes of accommodation was taken over to accommodate the new visitors. One of these buildings… Read More »Site Visit – Redhall Mill, Ballycarry
After being built in 1845, Crumlin Road Gaol, later to be named HM Prison Crumlin Road, was operational for 151 years until its closure in 1996. Through its rich and troubled life, it saw the incarceration of many notable personalities, including some of the country’s politicians during the many years of… Read More »Site Visit – Crumlin Road Gaol
Situated in the leafy suburbs of South Belfast, Belvoir Park Hospital has lain empty since 2006 when the remaining healthcare operations moved to the City Hospital. Belvoir opened 100 years earlier in 1906 as the Purdysburn Fever Hospital and had a long and fruitful history being the site of Northern Irelands… Read More »Site Visit – Belvoir Park Hospital
Finishing its wartime role in January 1946, and taken over in 1947 by the Government Communication Headquarters, the station at Ginahirk was one of 3 listening stations around the UK built in 1942 to intercept enemy wireless communications in conjunction with the code-breakers at Bletchley Park. Closed as a listening… Read More »Site Visit – Gilnahirk Y Station
Divis KP or Divis Key Point as it was known, was a remote communications station situated on the bleak Divis Mountain to the west of Belfast overlooking the City. Due to the highly sensitive nature of the site little is publicly known about it, however as part of the normalisation… Read More »Site Visit – Divis Key Point
Baxter Block as it was later known was an iconic accommodation cluster within Ballykinlar (Ballykinler) Camp in Country Down. This portion of the accommodation had a long and colourful history, first being relocated from The Curragh camp in order to house the newly raised 36th (Ulster) Division, and later to… Read More »Site Visit – Baxter Block, Ballykinlar
As part of my research into the 36 Maintenance Unit Snodland, I visited a site close to the location of this unit during WW2. While this was only a preliminary visit, on a site which is inherently difficult to gain access to and off the beaten track; there was a gem… Read More »Glimpse into the Past
Sitting within the Medway District, the anti-aircraft emplacement at Lodge Hill is seen as having national significance, and as such was scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 (reference) in 2012, and it is believed that this site, and its ‘sister’ site at Beacon Hill are the… Read More »Site Visit – Lodge Hill Anti-Aircraft Site