Boulby sound mirror

The grade II listed sound mirror at Boulby on the Yorkshire coast was built in about 1916, during the First World War. It is on top of a hill, facing out to sea.

These pictures were taken on 29 December 2002 (with permission from the owner of the site). Click on a picture to see a bigger version.

[Picture of the mirror from the front]

The mirror is of the same design as the one at Redcar, but different to the Kilnsea one.

[Picture of me stood in the dish]

To give some idea of the size of the mirror, I’m about six foot tall.

[Rear view of the sound mirror]

The mirror is adjacent to the road in a field on top of a hill. The rear of the mirror can easily been seen from the road.

Location

The mirror is west of Boulby Barns Cottage on Boulby Bank. Map. It is in a field between two farms, and is on land belonging to the westernmost. The rear of the mirror is clearly visible from the adjacent minor road.

Links

  • Tees Archaeology has an aerial photo of the mirror (it’s at the near end of the darker green field to the right-hand side). It was probably constructed in 1916. The structure is made from reinforced concrete set with corrugated iron shuttering. The sound mirror is a squared U shape in plan and is 17ft high. It survives in good condition although there is some decay to the concrete.