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Ballykinler trench system is a First World War entrenchment located in County Down, Northern Ireland. The site comprises preserved defensive lines that reflect the military engineering practices of the Great War, when trench systems became the dominant form of land warfare. This particular entrenchment forms part of the broader landscape of fortified positions constructed during the conflict, though its specific role within regional defences remains rooted in the broader strategic context of the period.
The monument lies upon bedrock of the Hawick Group, a formation of wacke laid down during the Wenlock epoch of the Silurian period. This fine-grained sedimentary stone would have presented particular challenges to sappers digging entrenchments, as the hard rock required breaking before softer material could be excavated. The underlying geology thus directly shaped the character of the defensive works undertaken at this location.
The trench system is protected by the Historic Environment Division of Northern Ireland under reference 16490, securing its status as a scheduled monument. As a survivor of the industrialised warfare of the First World War, Ballykinler represents an important record of the material experience of conflict and the engineering solutions deployed in contemporary fortification.
Ballykinler. trench system (ww1)- dhp 307 is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 16490. View the official record →
Ballykinler trench system is a First World War entrenchment located in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 16490.
Ballykinler. trench system (ww1)- dhp 307 is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Ni. The official designation reference is 16490.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including St. patrick's well, parkaneety graveyard, killyglinne. church, graveyard & holy well (1.4 km), Ballykinler. ww1 trench system, grenade bunker(ww2)-dhp 326 (1.9 km), Slidderyford dolmen. portal tomb (3.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Ballykinler. trench system (ww1)- dhp 307's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Ballykinler. trench system (ww1)- dhp 307 stands on Hawick Group, bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is wacke.