NHER 27367 (Monument record) - World War Two air raid shelters

May 2005. Norfolk NMP.
A group of World War Two air raid shelters is visible as earth covered structures on aerial photographs (S1) and (S2), centred at TG 5248 0733. The location of the shelters suggests that they were intended to provide protection for the civilian population living in the surrounding narrow, terraced streets. Historic maps, e.g. (S3) indicate that this area had been occupied with buildings before World War Two. It was relatively open land in 1944 (when the shelter is first visible) and may have already been subjected to bomb damage and subsequent clearance, thereby providing space for the shelter to be built. More recent aerial photographs and modern maps indicate that the area has since been levelled and perhaps partially built over.

The shelters appear to be earth covered surface shelters, although they could be slightly sunken. The central 'block' is in fact probably composed of at least two parallel shelters, with curvilinear or parabolic profiles in section, positioned side by side with entrances at their western end. Whether this block is connected to those to its north and south is not known, but their close spacing suggests that this is a possibility.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 17 May 2005.