NHER 42467 (Monument record) - A group of World War Two gun emplacements, Upper and Lower Esplanades, Gorleston Cliffs, Gorleston on Sea

January 2006. Norfolk NMP.
A group of World War Two three gun emplacements, including a large gun house, a pillbox and spigot mortar emplacement, is visible on aerial photographs located at Gorleston Cliffs between the Upper and Lower Esplanades (S1)-(S4). These gun positions would have acted as a beach defence battery, providing enfilading fire along the beaches and out to sea. Several other pillboxes are located in close proximity along the cliffs, such as NHER 42330, 42338 and 42469. The cliff tops and seafront were also protected by a variety of temporary defences such as barbed wire and smaller gun emplacements, see NHER 42350 for details. The site is centred on TG 5293 0332, although this point does not correspond to an archaeological feature on the ground.


The main defensive component of this site is a large concrete structure located on the cliff edge at TG 5291 0333. This structure would appear to be a large gun house or battery, measuring 14m along and up to 7m wide, with three possible firing faces, as the structure has three angled facades. This would have potentially providing enfilading fire along the beach to the north and south, also out to sea. This structure has a deep cut stairwell leading from the Esplanade down to the interior of the structure and the northern part of the structure may be partially earth revetted. This large gun house has already been constructed by September 1940 (S1) and has been dismantled by 1952 (S5).

A large pillbox is also located on the Upper Esplanade to south at TG 5291 0330, to the front of the communal air raid shelter (NHER 42349). This gets constructed in-between February 1941 and March 1944 (S2-S3). This pillbox measures 8m by 7.5m and has a similar plan to a type 24 pillbox, but it is larger and less symmetrical in shape. A spigot mortar emplacement is also located down on the Lower Esplanade, next to one of the stairwells down to the beach from the walkway, centred on TG 5296 0332. The emplacement consists of a central spigot in a pit, surrounded by a low earthen bank. The pillbox and spigot mortar emplacement have also been removed by 1952 (S5).
S. Massey (NMP), 27 January 2006.