Vernon Prior writes:
I left Seaham in 1947 and have rarely been back. I do remember as a child, however, playing around an acoustic mirror (complete with metal rod for supporting the microphone) situated on the high ground (Kinley or Kilney Hill) to the south west of Dawdon, Seaham Harbour. Having looked at the photographs, I can report that it was similar to the Sunderland example in terms of shape and size. I have no idea what state it might be in now, or even if it still exists.
Anyone got any ideas? Let me know! Looking at a map, it would make sense for there to be a mirror in the area, as it would be in the “gap” along the coast between the mirror at Sunderland and the now demolished mirror said to have existed at Clavering, Hartlepool.
UPDATE 15 March 2008: I’ve just rediscovered a previous post about Seaham. It looks like there is agreement on its existence – now we just need to find it!
I lived in westlea during the 70’s and 80’s and often played in the area of the photograph. the sound mirror was there and there was also a concrete bunker burried into the hillside about 35-40 yards away on the downhill side. the bunker was about 8feet square and 6 foot tall. I dont recall there being windows in it. We used to use the area as a short cut between deneside and dalton le dale on our ‘expeditions’ Both the bunker and the sound mirror were bulldozed when the bypass was built in the mid 80’s