MSO7787 - World War Two nissen huts in Yeanor Moor (Monument)

The footings of five nissen hut bases are visible as grass covered platforms. They are reported to have been associated with buildings on Stent Hill and the nearby World War Two battery. Summary from record MMO790: The site of Second World War nissen huts was visible as grass covered platforms during field investigation. The footings of five nissen hut bases are located immediately adjacent to the road from Culbone Hill to Worthy and a further two possible nissen hut footings are located 65m further northeast, just north of the road. The nissen huts were likely to be the accommodation for the nearby searchlight battery (SS 84 NW 55) and the military observation site (SS 84 NW 53). Summary from record MSO12732: Five military buildings surviving only as overgrown as concrete bases.

The footings of five nissen huts are centred at SS 83325 47225 immediately adjacent to the road from Culbone Hill to Worthy. Local information indicates that they were associated with the building complex on Stent Hill (MSO7961) and the nearby WWII battery (MSO7962). The nissen huts were arranged in a line beside the road from SS 8329 4721 to SS 8336 4725. The footings of these buildings are clearly visible as grass covered platforms up to 0.5 metres high with concrete floors visible in places. Each building measures 11.2 metres by 4.9 metres. Surveyed as part of RCHME's Exmoor Project. [1] The Second World War nissen hut bases are visible on aerial photographs taken in 1946. Another two possible nissen hut footings are visible 65 metres further to the northeast and centred at SS 8341 4729. These footings have similar dimensions to the other five measuring 11 metres long by 5 metres wide. [2,3] Shown along the north side of the road on 1947 aerial photographs. [4] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [5] Nissen huts were designed by Peter Nissen, an American inventor who created the hut while serving in the 103rd Field Company of the Royal Engineers in April 1916. The semi-circular design was supposedly inspired by an ice-skating rink Nissen had seen in Canada. Such huts were not constructed in Britain during the First World War, but military hut development continued during the inter-war period. Building programmes associated with the Second World War resulted in construction of huts in great numbers, with c. 3500 created for training camps alone. The word “Nissen” quickly became attached to a variety of temporary hut types, and 52 different variations are known from this period. [6] Further research on individual hut types in use on military sites on Exmoor would be of value.