Woodland Trust
The Depot's adjacent training grounds are open to the public. They contain relevant above ground archaeology.
Londonthorpe Woods comprises 60.6ha of native broad-leaf woodland, including several large areas of open space acquired from South Kesteven District Council under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. The land also includes a 4.0ha mature wood on the top of the limestone escarpment, dating back to the mid-nineteenth century - Alma Wood. Thirteen public access points around the site allow access to the WW1 & WW2 firing ranges and other above ground archaeology.
It contains the 30-yard machine gun ranges leftover from the area's use for the Machine Gun School of WW1 (figure 1, LiDAR map of the area, click on the southern most i icon for more information). The Depot 1942 map shows two additional ranges north and south of that older range. The south range is a well preserved brick arc about 20 meters in length and 3 meters high (figures 2 to 5).
Figure 1 Part of Alma Wood Range. Grantham. England, May 9th 1918, John Martin Paterson.
Figure 2: rear of south firing range viewed from east
Figure 3: south west view of the front of the south range. It consists of curved wall with a central bay the site of the butts or backstop that takes the impact after the bullet has passed through the target.
The December 1944 map indicates a shaded block to the west of this range (arrowed). If this is the firing point then the maximum range distance is 200 yards. A similar structure at RAF Acaster Malbis, Yorkshire is described as a 25 yard machine gun range.
The Peascliffe rifle and machine gun range 5 miles away offered a 750 yard range.
Figure 4: mis-aimed bullet holes pepper the central bay - the butts, and its two protective piers. A panoramic view.
Figure 5: lateral pier. Metal sheets attached by bolts (lower right in photo) would have protected the lower brickwork which is unaffected by bullet strikes
North firing range
The north range is heavily clothed by impenetrable brambles even in winter, although a depression in the ground is discernible. Some reinforced concrete structures that may relate to this range (figures 6 & 7). LiDAR is useful for identifying military features like firing ranges or trenches, but is only available at 2 m resolution for the Londonthorpe Woods area. This is too low a resolution to make out any recognisable structure.
Figure 6: at the north east corner of the map's north firing range are two sides of a reinforced wall, east side shown
Figure 7: south side of the north firing range
Figure 8: either an observation point for firing range with loophole, or a pillbox?
Nearby are 2, 4-foot diameter circular concrete tubes embedded vertical into the ground and side-by-side (figure 8).
The identity of these features is unknown, but it is not dissimilar to the circular open pillboxes based on the Norcon sewer-pipe design (Osbborne 2004, 20th Century Defences in Britain: The East Midlands). The Norcon Pipe Company of Send used left-over sewer-pipes for air raid shelters and pill boxes. As designed for sewer-pipes, they were not bullet proof!
Figure 9: east side of bunker
Just to the east of the map's north firing range on the boundary with Alma Woods high up on the escarpment is a sunken brick bunker, thought to be a grenade bunker (figures 9 & 10).
Figure 10 west side of bunker