Michael Rich has a slideshow of photos of Denge taken in April 2009.
Peter King photography’s Sound Mirrors Photos were taken on 13 July 2008, and Echoes In The Sky Dungeness & Sound Mirrors are from 19 August 2007.
Archive for the ‘Individual mirrors’ Category
Denge photos
Sunday, May 31st, 2009Conservation of the concrete mirrors
Sunday, May 24th, 2009When I went on one of the guided walks to the Denge sound mirrors, one of the other vistors was a construction worker who was somewhat critical of the quality of some of the original concrete on the mirrors. I’m not qualified to comment, but Rowan Technologies has some experts on the conservation of concrete.
Case Study #1: Dungeness
English Heritage has commissioned a series of investigative repairs on the mirrors – which are now scheduled as monuments (legal protection specifically for archaeological sites) – that will explore treatments that might be transferable elsewhere. The richly patinated surface of the mirrors is a complex amalgam of weathered aggregate and many varieties of lichen. Chris Wood from English Heritage’s building conservation team is also experimenting with yoghurt to encourage lichen reinstatement. The works were carried out by Rowan Technologies.
Source: The Architects’ Journal, 2008-11-24
Rowan Technologies has this to say:
Conservation Case Studies
The Listening Mirrors, Kent
Like-for-Like Concrete RepairsThe three early warning sound mirrors [at Denge] on the Kent coast were built using reinforced concrete in the late 1920s and the early 1930s to detect the distant sounds of enemy aircraft approaching from over the English Channel. The reinforced concrete has deteriorated in the marine environment and many parts of the structure are suffering from corrosion of the reinforcements and the delamination of the concrete cover.
Rowan Technologies undertook a series of trials of various repair and rehabilitation methods to assess their suitability for these monuments. This included ‘model’ patch repairs of the damaged concrete on a like-for-like basis, to achieving a similar texture and surface finish to the original
Source: Rowan Technologies Ltd
The largest ear in Malta
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009A frequent visitor to Malta, ColorGrinder obtained permission to photograph the 200 ft sound mirror in Malta. His pictures are online at ‘Il Widna’ – The largest ear in Malta. They give a good indication of the surviving camouflage paint.
ColorGrinder also has a post about Tracking down the old Malta Railway.
Crafty Shirley’s Denge mirror photographs
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009Crafty Shirley’s Photo Gallery – Sound Mirrors By The Sea. Within a short walk of where we live is Lade Pit. At the back of these lakes are the three Listening Devices built in the 1920s and 30s as part of a national early warning system against enemy aircraft.
Warden Point sea defences
Friday, July 7th, 2006Now the bad news. Greg writes from Warden Bay:
a bit concerned about the future of our sound mirror. Basically government funding has now been sourced to install a rock sea defence along the bottom of the cliff to stop it eroding (probably the same as at Bartons Point, Minster). This would go along the beach to near where the mirror is located, but I would hate to see it buried in the rocks. The mirror is something quite historic, and has become a local landmark, often known as the “listening ear”. … I haven’t seen the plan for the proposed works or the impact they would have on the mirror, and don’t know whether it has any kind of preservation order on it.
Wouldn’t it be great if, while they have huge machines on the beach, if the mirror could be moved up the beach a bit, so as to ebate its decay in the sea?
Oh, by the way, the “cracked” thing was done by an artist(?) who did this sort of stuff all round the island! A waste of time if you ask me – all that effort would have been far more useful maybe erecting a plaque or something to explain, to the hundreds of people who use the beach, exactly what the concrete remains used to be, and how they played a vital part in our history.
