Monument record ORF 185 - A First World War barracks block

A First World War barracks building is visible as a structure on King's Marshes, Orfordness, on aerial photographs of the 1940s onwards, centred on circa TM43594882. The structure has been identified by Angus Wainwright, the archaeologist of the National Trust, who now own the Ness, as a First World War barrack block associated with the early experimental air base. The building continued in regular use with a variety of functions throughout the Second World War (see ORF 021). (S1-S4)

2007: Field survey of the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment by Historic England (S5).

GRADE II LISTED BUILDING (S6)
MATERIALS The building is constructed of concrete with a timber frame and a C20 corrugated metal roof covering.

PLAN The building has a rectangular plan of 10 bays long and 3 wide.

EXTERIOR The barrack has a central gable roof section, with a shallow pitch and lights beneath the eaves, flanked by outshots to either side with pent roofs and pier divisions. The contemporary metal framed windows in the outshots generally survive intact. At the east end, double doors have been inserted into the central section, flanked by metal framed casements.

INTERIOR The roof is felt-clad over timber planking and supported on timber posts and metal columns (some timber posts have been replaced). The conduits and some light fittings remain.

Formerly recorded as ORD 080.

Survey 1 took place in July 2016 and recorded features along the shingle shelf of Orford Beach, including the Coastguard watch house beside the lighthouse, a concrete structure of unknown function and a ground marker used in ballistics trails. Survey 2 took place in September 2016 and focused on recording the visible remains of the First World War Prisoner of War (POW) camp. Survey 3 took place in June 2017 and created Historic England Level 1/Level 2 record of the First World War Barrack/Stores and the First World War/1950s canteen. Survey 4 in March and June 2018 used the CITiZAN app to start creating a Historic England Level 1 record for all buildings and building remains on Orford Ness. A total of 123 new features were added to CITiZAN's publicly accessible, interactive web based map and 44 National Trust HBSMR records were updated with images and/or text. Survey 5, a CITiZAN/MOLA survey, took place in December 2019 and January 2020. This created photographic and drawn records of the Coastguard watch house and a photographic the nearby concrete structure. The concrete structure collapsed due to coastal erosion not long after (S7).