This set of pictures is based on a visit to the location of the "Listening Ears" on 4th August 2004. The pictures were all believed lost in a hard drive crash not long after, but in late January 2009, a CD ROM of the entire set was discovered during an clean out on a long forgotten backup DVD - so I decided to share my pictures here in celebration of their re-discovery!
A very warm August afternoon started out with a health and safety talk and a brief introduction to what we were going to see on the day. There were about 100 people attending and I suspect most if not all there had a pretty good idea of what they were there to see! The visit to the sound mirrors (now known as the Listening Ears) was organised by the Romney Marsh Countryside Project and they arrange regular public visits to the site. Casual visits are not permitted and as we were to see; these are now prevented by a deep man-made moat bridged by a locked swing bridge.
It was quite a sight to see around a hundred people walking along the residential streets on their way to see these pre World War 2 structures.
Before we were taken to the actual location of the sound mirrors, we were given an in-depth and fascinating talk about the concrete structures and how they originally came about by Dr. Richard Scarth, who is the acknowledged expert on the mirrors, their history and function. He authored a book on the subject in 1995 entitled Mirrors by the Sea and was the leader of the visit to the sound mirrors.
Gradually, the shape and structure of the concrete mirrors became clear as we approached via the shingle and pebbles of the now long closed gravel pit.
We then arrived at the swing bridge, which is now usually locked in the open position. This is sadly a necessity as these structures have suffered a great deal of vandalism over recent years and now, only controlled and supervised access such as the day I visited are now allowed.
The swing bridge and moat are just a part of a £500,000 project undertaken by English Heritage in 1993 when, after years of neglect, erosion and vandalism, some of the structures we were about to see were perilously close to destruction.
The scale of the first parabolic dish is just incredible when you stand underneath it.
The rusty pipework on which the microphone would have been mounted is still in place as is the staircase down to the listening room beneath the dish.
Another fascinating talk was given about this smaller dish's key role in early 20th century history was presented - this concrete dish has more recently been featured in the BBC's Coast.
Of the three structures, this was by far the most endangered and by 1993 due to undermining erosion and the work of cretins who like nothing better than doing physical damage to historic structures such as these, this dish was on the verge of toppling over.
This mirror is very similar in design to a couple of other sound mirrors in existence in Yorkshire.
This structure was recently featured in a music video for Invaders Must Die, by The Prodigy. I'm amazed they were allowed to film the video as a key element shows a person spray painting an enormous logo onto this sound mirror - something the location owners have gone to great lengths to avoid in reality. In this case it was removeable paint (or possibly computer graphics) - let's hope it doesn't encourage more vandalism... Other musicians have used the mirrors over the years as backdrops for photography and album covers.
Then, onto the goliath of the structures. From a distance this looks like a solid wall, but is in reality another horizontally aligned parabolic dish - but on a scale far bigger than the other two structures on this stretch of Denge coast - it was enormous!
Along with a nearly identical mirror built around the same time in Malta, this is the biggest sound mirror in the world built to detect enemy aircraft. Incidentally the mirror in Malta is believed to be the only sound mirror in existence outside the UK.
I didn't stay for all of the historic talk for this section - I was interested to see what would happen if I went to this dish's focus point...
The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway narrow gague steam railway runs along the coast near here and...
I could hear the little steam train pass across in front of me off the sound mirror, GREATLY magnified in sound and apparently in the mirror direction it was traveling. Clearly not a demonstration of aeroplane detection, but also a clear demonstration that these concrete mirrors still work, nearly 80 years after their experimental construction!
At the focus was a small concrete plinth - here a microphone could be moved back and forth to determine directionality - or indeed a series of microphones mounted to get the same effect.
In the first episode of the first series of the BBC's Coast, an experiment was conducted and actually proved that this mirror was very capable of detecting a modern single engine plane many miles out over the English Channel.
This was cutting edge scientific research and took place between 1916 to the 1930s. However, work in this field was abandoned virtually overnight, with the advent of radar.
Until then the work was top-secret and of high national importance but once radar came on the scene, the work on the sound mirrors seemed far less important as radar seemed to be far more accurate and reliable especially as it worked in adverse weather conditions where the sound mirrors needed a calm relatively wind-less environment to operate.
An order was given to demolish these structures with explosives - nobody is quite sure why the order wasn't followed. Thankfully these are now a tangible and almost unique reminder of early 20th century defence research. Almost, because a few other sound mirrors remain in place, including a 30 foot mirror nearby in Hithe, and a couple still exist in Yorkshire.
Only a select few locations remain in the UK that still have concrete sound mirrors.
Thanfully, these structures are listed and have received a lot of care and attention over the past few years so that subsequent generations can catch a glimpse into an unique area of then, important and cutting edge research that could otherwise be so quickly overlooked and forgotten.
Far more information about this and other sound mirrors can be found on this web site.
With the exception of the image taken from The Invaders Must Die video, all text and images are copyright ©2005, ©2010 Hywel Williams. Permission must be given before any images are reproduced - permission will almost certainly be granted for re-use if I feel the use of the image doesn't negate the fine work being done to maintain and preserve these amazing structures.
Last Modified: 4th February 2010