Monument record ADT 084 - First or Second World War trenches and emplacements

February 2016. Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Beauty National Mapping Programme.
The site of former First or early Second World War trenches and emplacements is visible on aerial photographs (S1-S4) at Alderton. The site is visible as earthworks of crenelated slit trenches cut around the edge of a former pit (S1-S2). Several small square emplacements are located along the line of the trench. Further elements of crenelated trench are visible on aerial photographs as cropmarks in 2011 (S2).
The crenelated form, which is characteristic of First World War trenches, along with the fact that the trench sections known only from cropmarks are not visible on the aerial photographs from the 1940s – suggesting that the parts of the site have already been destroyed – could indicate that all of these trenches are originally World War One in date, however it is possible that they date to earlier Second World War activity.
The square emplacement on the eastern side, along with some areas of trench, are still extant as late as 1979 (S3) However it would appear from more recent photography that, although the pit still survives, further expansion and extraction of the site has largely destroyed the earthworks and the structural remains (S4). However it is possible that a site visit might reveal some remaining components.
S. Horlock (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 16th February 2016.