1901 Watch Shelter, Beacon Hill Fort, Harwich.
A shelter built in 1901 for detachments for the 6-inch QF gun. A rectangular brick building. measuring 25ft x 11ft 11in internally, with a concrete floor and a flat concrete roof coated with a thin layer of asphalt. A simple blast wall outside the western elevation survives to a height of 4ft 5in. A doorway, 3ft 1in wide x 7ft 1in high, in the south wall has an internal wooden frame for outward-opening double doors. Next to this is a window measuring 3ft wide x 5ft high externally, two windows in the west wall are identical.
The doors and windows have plain concrete sill and chamfered lintels. A doorway, 3ft wide x 6ft 7in high with an internal frame for an inward-opening door, has been inserted into an earlier window opening at the northern end of the west wall. The north wall, which is of cavity construction, is almost totally destroyed, though the glazed ventilation bricks survive in the west wall. Ventilation is provided by a single steel-lined circular ventilator in the south-west corner of the ceiling. On the walls are the remains of several layers of paint including a black band at dado level with green below. There is a possible scar for a bench or table along the east wall, and heavy metal hooks, anchored through the walls, along the east and west walls.
Outside the inserted doorway is a protected porch leading to steps up to the 1941 6-inch Mk.VII gun emplacement. Attached to the eastern side of the shelter is a small room measuring 9ft 3in north-south x 5ft 1in transversely. Of brick construction, it has a concrete floor and a flat concrete roof, slightly lower than the roof of the shelter. The single doorway in the south wall measures 2ft 6in wide x 6ft 6in high and had a wooden frame for a inward-opening door. A single window in the east wall measures 1ft 7in wide x 3ft 3in high externally. The doorway and window have plain concrete sills and chamfered concrete lintels. Internally the room appears to have been painted yellow, and the remains of wooden shelving survives along the east, north and west walls.
1901 Watch Shelter, Beacon Hill Fort, Harwich.
A shelter built in 1901 for detachments for the 6-inch QF gun. A rectangular brick building. measuring 25ft x 11ft 11in internally, with a concrete floor and a flat concrete roof coated with a thin layer of asphalt. A simple blast wall outside the western elevation survives to a height of 4ft 5in. A doorway, 3ft 1in wide x 7ft 1in high, in the south wall has an internal wooden frame for outward-opening double doors. Next to this is a window measuring 3ft wide x 5ft high externally, two windows in the west wall are identical.
The doors and windows have plain concrete sill and chamfered lintels. A doorway, 3ft wide x 6ft 7in high with an internal frame for an inward-opening door, has been inserted into an earlier window opening at the northern end of the west wall. The north wall, which is of cavity construction, is almost totally destroyed, though the glazed ventilation bricks survive in the west wall. Ventilation is provided by a single steel-lined circular ventilator in the south-west corner of the ceiling. On the walls are the remains of several layers of paint including a black band at dado level with green below. There is a possible scar for a bench or table along the east wall, and heavy metal hooks, anchored through the walls, along the east and west walls.
Outside the inserted doorway is a protected porch leading to steps up to the 1941 6-inch Mk.VII gun emplacement. Attached to the eastern side of the shelter is a small room measuring 9ft 3in north-south x 5ft 1in transversely. Of brick construction, it has a concrete floor and a flat concrete roof, slightly lower than the roof of the shelter. The single doorway in the south wall measures 2ft 6in wide x 6ft 6in high and had a wooden frame for a inward-opening door. A single window in the east wall measures 1ft 7in wide x 3ft 3in high externally. The doorway and window have plain concrete sills and chamfered concrete lintels. Internally the room appears to have been painted yellow, and the remains of wooden shelving survives along the east, north and west walls.