Event/Activity EPM248 - Horsea Island Wireless Station

A desk based assessment and field survey was carried out by the Maritime Archaeology Trust at the site of the former Wireless Telegraphy Station on Horsea Island. The work was undertaken as part of the Forgotten Wrecks of the First World War project and focused on those buildings and structures connected with the use of the site during the First World War. Two main areas of interest were identified through the desk based assessment and a site visit took place on the 2nd June 2016 during which a walk over survey was conducted. The project had two aims: to assess and record any remaining structures associated with the station shown on earlier maps at the western end of the island; to try and find out how the structures related to later building phases on the site. The survey focused on less visible structures around the western extent of the island, as the remains of First World War buildings had been incorported into current buildings towards the eastern end. This included the foreshore and part of the intertidal zone where a pier had been located. The remains of any surviving structures were recorded by measured sketch and photography. Surviving pier supports were measured to determine individual dimensions and their relationship to each other. The extent to which the landscape had changed since the structures were built around the time of the First World War was also assessed. The walk over survey revealed that the vast majority of First World War structures on the north side of the torpedo range (area 1) had been covered or destroyed by landscape remodelling. However, much remained intact on the foreshore and intertidal zone (area 2) due to restricted access as it is MOD property and there had been little or no later building/development in this area. The remains of several structures including concrete and timber supports belonging to the former pier, the foundations of the boat house, winches and possible mast bases were recorded. The survey report suggested that future work on the site could include a more detailed assessment of the remains of the pier and geophysical work to analyse the effect its construction had on the landscape in the surrounding area. It was also suggested that Ground Penetrating Radar could be used in Area 1 to determine whether First World War structures had been buried or destroyed by land reclamation.