Monument record WRW 032 - Culford Camp; Wordwell Camp

Site of 1930s labour camp (also see Santon Downham 029). Said to have been later used as a Women's Land Army camp during 2nd World War and between 1950-1953 by USAF (S1)(S3). Marked with buildings as "Camp (Ministry of Works)(Disused)" on 1959 OS map (S2).

September 2019. Breckland National Mapping Programme.
A Second World War military camp can be seen as structures and earthworks (before the structures are subsequently removed) on aerial photographs and visualised lidar data (S4-S9). The camp consists of a group of various sized huts (centred at TL 8302 7282) most likely for accommodation and support structures, an area of earthworks to the north of the camp (centred at TL 8292 7294) possibly relating Second World War forestry activities (see above) and an area of extraction (centred at TL 8286 7323). The earthworks to the north the camp consist most notably of two large square pit features with surrounding banks, two large pits next to a large bank, a large curved bank surrounding a large hut and small banks and ditches. The area of extraction to the north consists of a large area of extraction with a number of small pits and an area of mounds possibly relating to embanked earth. The structures relating to the camp can be seen on the 1940s aerial photographs with most of the huts removed by the 1950s and the site is under arable cultivation by the 1960s. Similarly the majority of the earthworks to the north of the site have been levelled by the 1950s with some of the earthworks, the large area of extraction and the small pits visible on the recently (2015) visualised lidar data. The large area of extraction and the small pits look older than the nearby earthworks to the south on the 1940s aerial photographs and may relate to the 1930s labour camp or the early years of the Second World War.
J.Powell (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 09th September 2019.