Sound mirrors

The Selsey acoustic mirror, known locally as the listening post is up for sale, with a guide price of £120 000 freehold.

Described as Of Non Traditional Construction and Grade II Listed, this property of some historical interest is in need of totally updating.. From what I remember of my visit, the estate agent’s description is pretty much spot on!

It offers

• Kitchen, Sitting Room, Bedroom, Bathroom. There are Surrounding Gardens, a basement ideally used as a workshop and a Garage. Vacant Possession.
• Surrounding gardens which are currently overgrown with brambles, enclosed by fencing.

Selsey would be a bit inconvenient for me, and having just bought a house, I’ve no plans to do it all again!

This mirror is rather interesting, in that there is very little information about it floating around. The design is similar to the First World War era mirrors in the northeast. A couple of years ago when I spoke to Richard Scarth, author of Echoes from the Sky he said he’d not been to Selsey to see this one, and didn’t know much about it.

The Selsey Community Website says

The Listening Post was in April 1999 recognised as a Grade 2 Listed building. During the 1st World War a listening post was built in Selsey at East Beach to provide early warning of approaching Zepplins. The structure took the form of an “acoustic mirror” which was built of concrete and shaped like a modern satellite dish. The structure survived and is currently the subject of great interest due to its rarity.