Greatstone Sound Mirrors

The Sound Mirrors, also known as Acoustic Mirrors, Concrete Dishes or Listening Ears, are large concrete structures designed as an early warning system for Britain to detect enemy aircraft

Category Musical Wonders, Instruments of Science, Architectural Oddities

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The massive concrete acoustic mirrors, or “listening ears,” lining the southeast coast of England were built between the world wars to monitor the skies for the telltale sounds of airborne invasion.

Built between 1927-30, the sound mirrors were part of Britain's national defense strategy. Their parabolic shape collected and magnified sound waves in the air over the English Channel and directed them at a microphone positioned just in front of the parabola. Anti-aircraft defenses were then deployed. The mirrors effectively gave Britain a fifteen-minute advance warning of an impending attack.

The site features three different reflectors, including a 200-foot-long curved wall, a 30-foot-tall parabolic dish, and a smaller 20-foot-tall shallow dish. All three can be seen in Greatstone, located in the north east side of the Dungeness Nature Reserve.

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  • jiblite& jiblite September 1, 2009
    Google Map Link to three mentioned above http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=sound+mirror&sll=50.960974,0.959474&sspn=0.002943,0.006539&ie=UTF8&ll=50.95557,0.953713&spn=0.001472,0.00327&t=k&z=19 Google map link to one in Hythe http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=sound+mirror&sll=51.069253,1.055546&sspn=0.005872,0.013078&ie=UTF8&ll=51.069635,1.047786&spn=0.001426,0.00327&t=k&z=19
  • peterfaulkner& peterfaulkner July 19, 2009
    These Sound Mirrors are not in Denge but in Greatstone. The Sound Mirrors are physically sited in Greatstone on an island on Greatstone Lakes. The area known as Denge Marsh or Dengemarsh [there is no place actually called Denge] starts about a mile to the south east and continues southwards.
  • & Anonymous July 9, 2009
    How effective were they ?