Sound mirror talk and exhibition in Ramsgate

Sonic reflections

09/09/2020 | 5 p.m.

East Cliff Bandstand, Wellington Crescent, Ramsgate

This talk will see guest speakers discussing their experience in researching the history & archaeology of sound mirrors & acoustic detection in Kent. Please be aware the event will be subject to social distancing.

Speakers:

Peter Osborne was involved in publishing Richard Scarth’s important work on acoustic detection “Echoes From the Sky” & has conducted much personal research on the subject for books & articles.

Robert Hall has researched sound mirrors & contributed to publications on acoustic detection. He was also instrumental in assisting the National Trust’s excavation of the Fan Bay sound mirrors in Dover, 2014.

[More…]

….is happening along with

Echoes: sound mirrors exhibition

10/09/2020 | noon

East Cliff Bandstand, Wellington Crescent, Ramsgate
This exhibition assesses the history of Kent’s coastal sound mirrors & their role in an unusual history of acoustic detection, for which the East Kent Coast played such a crucial part.

[More…]

“Bombing the Channel Ports” by Eric Ravilious, then and now

A comparison of the 1941 watercolour painting “Bombing the Channel Ports” by war artist Eric Ravilious, and the same view of the Abbott’s Cliff sound mirror on 13 August 2017.

Bombing the Channel Ports
Bombing the Channel Ports © IWM (Art.IWM ART LD 1588)

The painting is described by the Imperial War Museum as showing “a deserted coastal road that leads past an ‘acoustic mirror’ early warning device. In the top right of the composition there are searchlights beaming up into the sky, and a large circular glow of light to one side.”

Sound mirror photos on the BBC website

Black and white photos of the sound mirrors by Joe Pettet-Smith on the BBC News website.

More than 100 years ago acoustic mirrors along the coast of England were used to detect the sound of approaching German zeppelins.
{…]
Joe Pettet-Smith set out to photograph all the remaining structures following a conversation with his father, who told him about these large concrete structures dotted along the coastline between Brighton and Dover.

Source: The concrete blocks that once protected Britain, BBC News, 7 January 2019

Dungeness sound mirror open day

2018 Denge sound mirror open days

There will be two open days at the Denge sound mirrors this year. The open days are scheduled for 10:00 to 15:00 on Saturday 7 July 2018 and Saturday 1 September 2018.

Denge sound mirror open day 2016

There will be a cash-only charge of £5 per adult, £2.50 per child (RSPB members free).

There are more details on the Romney Marsh website events listings for July 2018 and September 2018.

The open days are generally the only way for the public to access the Denge listening ears close up, although there have also been some photography days, so it might be worth keeping an eye out, if you are seriously interested.

(Please note that andrewgrantham.co.uk has no connection to the open day, the RSPB or anything else! Please check the details with the RSPB before visiting)

Kew sound mirrors

A pair of Richter Spielgeräte concrete sound mirrors in a small park on the banks of the River Thames at Kew in west London. Photographs taken on 11 March 2018.