First World War pillbox, Sea Lane, Saltfleet

This is a First World War pillbox built in 1917, located at Sea Lane in Saltfleet. The structure is made of concrete, reinforced with expanded metal lath sheeting and steel rails, poured in place using timber shuttering on the inside and sandbag shuttering on the outside.

The pillbox has a single cell with a trapezoidal shape and is set into the eastern slope of the sea bank. The northeast (seaward) elevation is blind and convex, while the northwest and southeast elevations each feature a single, low-set, wide-splayed machine gun embrasure. The base of a Second World War steel-framed bombing range quadrant post, consisting of smooth surfaced concrete foundation pillars with holdfast bolts on their upper surfaces, is cast against both the northwest and southeast walls. The southwest rear wall is completely hidden by the sea bank. The roof slab has a central round vent that has been blocked with a modern circular steel cap, which is marked with ‘E + A’ but is not of special interest. The exterior has a rusticated look due to the sandbag shuttering, and the front edge of the roof has irregular lumps of concrete to break up the outline of the structure.

Inside, access is blocked and filled with sand. The walls are made of smooth whitewashed concrete, with visible marks from horizontal plank shuttering.