Monument record ELV 106 - Second World War bomb storage facility, Warren Wood

January 2017. 'Brecks from Above' and Breckland National Mapping Programme.
The site of a Second World War bomb storage facility is partially visible on the aerial photographs (S1-S4) within Warren Wood, now the location of Centre Parks. See LKH 386 for adjacent associated bomb storage area on Lakenheath Warren. Both of these bomb storage areas are likely to have served the nearby Lakenheath Airfield (LKH 339).
The area is densely forested on most of the aerial photographs making identification and mapping of individual features problematic. The location of visible components of the site have been mapped by extent. Although it is likely that significant elements of the site remain obscured by the tree coverage. See ELV 032 for mention of concrete roadways within the wood. The clearest area of bomb storage within the site is located on the northern edge of the woodland (S1) located alongside an access track. These features consist of cleared strip of ground perpendicular to the road. Some appear to have a slot dug into the ground, others have the remains of an elongated structure, possibly a slab or sleeper. It is possible that the incendiary material would have been stacked and storage on wooden platforms or beams and/or on mobile units ‘bomb trolleys’ to aid the movement of material between the storage area and the airfield. A further strip of smaller areas (and/or gun emplacements or shelters) are just visible on the southern part of the woods, possibly cut into a warren boundary bank, as at nearby LKH 386.
A line of possible huts or surface shelters are visible along the southeastern perimeter of the woods. Several structures are also visible along tracks or within breaks in the tree cover, although it is not clear how many are military in origin. It is also not clear if any of the buildings in proximity to the brick works are actually military additions, at least one structure appears to be post 1930s. However the bases of former huts, potentially nissens or similar structures, are visible within a cleared area in 1971 (S4) to the immediate west of the former Warrenwood Cottages/The Kennels buildings. The presence of these structures cannot be confirmed on the 1940s aerial photographs due to the trees, but a Second World War date is assumed. A strip of cleared plantation in 1971 (S4) also reveals a chain of low rectilinear enclosures, while it is possible that these predate the military use of the wood, and perhaps relate to warrening activity, a Second World War date seems most likely and may represent further bomb storage areas lining the track.
S. Horlock (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 24th January 2018.