Site of post-medieval farm, 'Great Shelford Farm', Foulness Island (EHER 82611)

Now destroyed. A complex of mid-twentieth century military structures surrounds the site of the 19th century Great Shelford Farm on the western side of Foulness Island. They are located in an area owned by the government and used during World War II by the Armament Research Department and subsequently by the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (EHER 46720). The two clusters of nineteenth or early twentieth century farm buildings, and associated yards or boundaries are visible on aerial photographs. These correspond to the location of buildings marked on the 1873 OS map but the plans appear to differ slightly with more buildings at the southern cluster and less at the northern. Most of the farms in this area were abandoned before or during the war and it is likely that Great Shelford provided accommodation during World War II and certainly in the immediate post-war period. A number of scarred areas suggest that the area may also have been used for ad hoc weapons testing. The military buildings are mainly located to the west and north and north east of the former farm buildings. The complex is linked to Churchend road by two rough trackways. The 1940s military structures were removed before or during the construction of buildings and infrastructure associated with the former Atomics Weapons Research Establishment (EHER 46720). Range 1 of the AWRE was constructed here in the 1950s.

NRHE data transfer: A complex of mid-twentieth century military structures surrounds the site of the 19th century Great Shelford Farm on the western side of Foulness Island. They are located in an area owned by the government and used during World War II by the Armament Research Department and subsequently by the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (EHER 46720). The two clusters of nineteenth or early twentieth century farm buildings, and associated yards or boundaries, visible on aerial photographs, are centred at TQ 9852 9048 and TQ 9859 9056. These correspond to the location of buildings marked on the 1873 OS map but the plans appear to differ slightly with more buildings at the southern cluster and less at the northern. Most of the farms in this area were abandoned before or during the war and it is likely that Great Shelford provided accommodation during World War II and certainly in the immediate post-war period. A number of scarred areas suggest that the area may also have been used for ad hoc weapons testing. The military buildings are mainly located to the west and north and north-east of the former farm buildings. The military buildings include an arc of 11 curved asbestos huts interspersed with other buildings types and structures, including a tower. These are centred at TQ 9837 9051. Smaller buildings and structures are dispersed around this tight formation of, presumably, accommodation blocks. A fence seems to extend around western and northern parts of the site. The complex is linked to Churchend road by two rough trackways. The 1940s military structures were removed before or during the construction of buildings and infrastructure associated with the former Atomics Weapons Research Establishment (EHER 46720). Range 1 of the AWRE was constructed here in the 1950s (<1>). <1> <2> <3>