Building record MAB36243 - BARRY BUDDON LINKS

Military training area, still in use, including a B-listed former naval gunnery in use as a gymnasium, built in 1860.

Military training area, still in use, including a B-listed former naval gunnery in use as a gymnasium, built in 1860. It has been in active military use since the 19th century, and has had military camps since at least 1941 when one is visible on RAF vertical photographs. The area has had the military presence strengthened with two large Army camps, small arms ranges, assault courses and an airfield. Barry Camp is centred at NO 542 334 and Buddon Camp is centred on NO 520 328. The B-listed former gunnery is a single-storey, 3-bay, rectangular-plan, pitch-roofed timber building, built in the form of a replica gun deck of a war ship. It is contemporary with HMS Warrior, and the training gun-ports are similar to those on the warship. It is painted timber tongue and groove weatherboarding and is set on a painted brick plinth. There is a pair of metal training gun-ports to the east elevation, a replacement corrugated asbestos roof and cast-iron rainwater goods with anchor motifs to hoppers. A plaque on the wall notes that the building was converted to a gym on 13 November 2000, however it retains the timber king-post roof structure that has later steel reinforcing girders. The openings to the gun-ports are splayed, and a trapdoor in the southeast corner leading to a cellar. Warship technology improved greatly from the 1860s, and firing from the type of gun-port on this building quickly became obsolete. It therefore became redundant as a training building within a decade of construction. Centred at NO 54039 32002 are the remains of a complex of moving target ranges (NO53SW0162). The track for the target range is visible on RAF photographs taken in 1941. In March 2008 a baseline condition survey was carried out by Headland on behalf of Defence Estates of all recorded archaeological and historical sites and monuments within the Barry Buddon Training Area. Cartographic evidence suggests that the land was not permanently settled until the late 18th century and that military use began circa 100 years later. A total of 46 sites were recorded, 24 percent related to the early civilian settlement, the remaining 76 percent consisting of military sites dating from the mid 19th to mid 20th centuries. Most of the military sites are shooting ranges, some of which are still in use. There are also several trench systems dating back to World War One which were used for trench warfare training (NO53SW0127). Photographs taken 16/06/1947 show trenches in the form of both cropmarks and extant earthworks centred on NO 5252 3305. It is suggested that those visible as cropmarks are of World War I origin, and the others are more recent. The coastal dune landscape suggests that the sites are under threat from coastal and wind erosion. Most sites were noted as being in a stable condition, although four sites were noted as requiring urgent attention, a collapsing lighthouse keeper's building at Buddon Ness and three Allan Williams Turrets from World War II. A number of features were recorded by coastal zone assessment survey carried out by SCAPE between February and March 2009. Possible trench systems at NO 55760 32580 and NO 55740 32490 are probably the trenches visible on the 1947 aerial photograph, but wind-blown sand and thick grass undergrowth made identification of specific details difficult. A large spread of brick and concrete debris over an area 30 m by 20 m at NO 55866 32937 may be the remains of a pillbox which is visible on a 1946 vertical RAF Aerial photograph. This shows a Y-shaped structure to the northeast of the firing range. At NO 55070 31830 an area of anti-landing posts is visible on a 1941 aerial photograph, between the high and low water marks, but not known if any survive. A pillbox is visible at NO 55880 32970 on 1946 RAF aerial photographs as a Y-shaped concrete structure. Systems of trenches centred NO 55791 32613 have been identified from Google maps (2020) - see also NO53SE0128..

Period Notes
The former naval gunnery was built in 1860, and listed on 03/09/2007.

SCAPE, 03/2009, COASTAL ZONE ASSESSMENT SURVEY PART 2, p.18 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4802.

WILLS, H, 1985, PILLBOXES: A STUDY OF UK DEFENCES 1940 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2117.

Hume, J R, 1998, Historic Scotland Report, Report- June (Bibliographic reference). SAB829.

MILLAR, J, 1999, Desk-based Evaluation for Tay Wastewater Project (Bibliographic reference). SAB2872.

Headland, 2008, BARRY BUDDON TRAINING CAMP: BASELINE ASSESSMENT (Bibliographic reference). SAB2752.

SCAPE TRUST, 2009, COASTAL ZONE ASSESSMENT SURVEY PART 1: DESK BASED ASSESSMENT (Bibliographic reference). SAB4801.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2009, DISCOVERY & EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, VOL 9, 2008, p.29 (Bibliographic reference). SAB3496.

Jun 26 1941 , D309 4977-4981, D309 4977-4981 (Air-vertical Photograph). SAB24940.

Record last edited

May 10 2023 11:33AM