North Sutor, Coast Battery

The remains of this building, possibly a toilet block, are situated on a gorse- and grass-grown platform cut-back into a steep S-facing slope immediately E of the barracks (NH86NW 9.36). It measures 6.8m from E to W by 3.8m transversely overall. All the walls appear to have been timber, except that on NNE which is concrete and measures 0.26m thick and 2m high. Its wall-head slopes downwards from S to N reflecting the angle of the roof. For the main part the concrete floor of the building is set on two levels, the northern part set slightly higher than the southern. The northern part measures 6.8m from WNW to ESE by 2.5m transversely and incorporates the surviving wall, along the foot of which runs a white-glazed ceramic gutter. A number of sockets for vertical timbers are present on both levels of the concrete floor but it is not clear what purpose they served. The building was entered via a doorway midway along the S side. At the E end of the southern part of the building there is a stance, measuring about 1.1m square, which is set at the same level as the northern part of the building. A second stance, measuring 2m from N to S by 1.5m transversely is set at yet a higher level. It is was entered via a doorway at the S end of its E side and around its edge is a raised concrete sill that once supported a timber superstructure.

The building is shown on plans of the North Sutor held by the National Archives at Kew (WO78/5192), one of which is dated to 1 May 1913. However, its function is not identified.

Visited by HES, Survey and Recording (ATW, AKK, KLG), 28 March 2019.