NHER 42282 (Monument record) - World War Two air raid shelters on Church Lane, Gorleston on Sea

January 2006. Norfolk NMP.
A large group of World War Two air raid shelters are visible within the grounds of the Alderman Leach Secondary School on Church Lane Gorleston (S1). The site is centred on TG 5218 0431. These shelters would have protected both the staff and students attending the school, although the large numbers of shelters could suggest that it also served nearby inhabitants.

The shelters can be divided into two groups, a west and an east. The western group is largest and covers 53m in length and is 16m wide in places. The low earth covered mounds suggest that the group possibly consists of two conjoined shelters. Three main entrances to the shelters can be identified, plus several circular vents or hatches. In the centre of the group is a square structure at TG 5213 0430, which appears to be enclosed by barbed wire. The main eastern shelter is 32m long and up to 16m wide and has two rectangular entrances. To the immediate west of this is an oblong mound measuring 16m by 6m. To the west of this at TG 5219 0431 is a rectangular slot, cut into the ground, indicating the entrance to a further subsurface shelter.

The shelters appear to have been dismantled by June 1947 (S2).
S. Massey (NMP), 03 January 2006.