World War Two anti-invasion structures

World War Two Anti-Invasion Structures

This group of Second World War defensive structures was erected between 1940 and 1941 as part of the Taunton Stop Line. The defences comprise five pillboxes, a rail block, and anti-tank tetrahedra, all constructed of reinforced concrete and arranged in a linear formation aligned north-west to south-east.

Pillbox N74 is situated on the canal embankment immediately south of the aqueduct that carried the Chard Canal over the River Tone. It is a standard type 24 design of corrugated-iron shuttered concrete and has sunk into the canal bed almost level with its embrasures. The pillbox was not inspected in 2015.

Pillbox T35, added in late 1940 or early 1941, is located on the east side of the railway embankment facing west. It is a type 24 pillbox of shuttered concrete with some modification to the standard design. A doorway is set in its east side, and embrasures to its other faces accommodate light machine guns and possibly Vickers medium machine guns, although there is no evidence of interior support for the latter. The two larger embrasures, positioned north-west and south-east on the same alignment as the railway track, are understood to retain their internal steel shutters. The concrete raft on which the pillbox sits is exposed.

An anti-tank tetrahedron, standing approximately 1.5 metres high with a pyramidal top, is situated beneath the canal embankment on the north side of the Ruishton-Creech St Michael road. Contemporary documents indicate that a road block (NRD 10) was established here in 1940, originally consisting of concrete-filled cars, an experimental system employed following a Southern Command Instruction of 1 July 1940. This experiment failed because the car wheels could not support the weight of the concrete. The cars were replaced by a horizontal road block and twenty-four concrete anti-tank tetrahedra, most of which have since been dismantled except for this single example.

Pillbox N75 is located on the south side of the Ruishton-Creech St Michael road at the base of the canal embankment. It is a variant pillbox, described in contemporary 1940 documents as having been 'built in tunnel at old canal site (special shape)'. The pillbox incorporates a pre-existing stone ashlar-lined tunnel within the canal embankment which serves as its entrance. Historic documents describe this tunnel as a site for storage of anti-tank mines and explosives intended for use at road blocks and bridge demolition. A blast wall of red brick stands at the east end of the tunnel. The tunnel entrance was recently blocked in 2015, and its single rifle loophole no longer survives. The pillbox itself is semi-circular on plan, constructed of concrete and faced with random stone rubble for camouflage. A new entrance with a modern door has been inserted in the south side. Four embrasures are present: two were for Bren light machine guns mounted on tripods, capable of firing on fixed lines in poor visibility, with one covering the road under the railway bridge to the west and the other allowing enfilade fire northwards along the old canal embankment. The remaining two embrasures were for rifles.

Pillbox T34, constructed in November 1940 or later, is located on top of the canal embankment south-east of and above pillbox N75. It is a type 24 pillbox of corrugated-iron shuttered concrete with some modification to the standard design. Its foundations are exposed. It is an irregular hexagon on plan with a three-sided front (west) face. The rear (east) side has a central doorway with modern door and flanking embrasures, with single embrasures to each of the other sides, all covered with perspex sheeting. A large embrasure in one of the east faces retains its internal steel shutter.

Pillbox N76 is located forward (west) of the canal on the east side of the railway embankment. It is understood to be one of only two pillboxes on the Stop Line built in front of the anti-tank obstacle (formed here by the canal embankment), as the vast majority were sited behind obstacles to prevent direct attack by tanks or infantry at point-blank range. This pillbox was erected to overcome the very short and limited arcs of fire from pillbox N75 below the canal embankment. It is said to have been painted black to camouflage it as a railway plate-layer's hut. It is a standard type 24 pillbox of vertical corrugated-iron shuttered concrete with a solid concrete roof. It is an irregular hexagon on plan with a three-sided front (west) face. The rear (east) side has a central doorway with modern door and flanking embrasures, with single embrasures to each of the other sides, all covered with perspex sheeting.

Rail block NRL 30 is situated on the railway embankment and visible on 1947 RAF aerial photographs. It consists of two large trapezoidal reinforced concrete blocks positioned on either side of the former railway track, each containing a vertical slot or socket that would have held a horizontal rail. Four anti-tank tetrahedra run west-east immediately to the east, erected to prevent tanks moving along the railway track and attacking pillboxes in the area. Each tetrahedron is approximately 1.2 metres wide, projects about 1 metre from the ground, and has a low-pointed pyramid top. A second rail block (NRL 29) to the north, visible on the same 1947 photographs, does not survive.

The canal embankment into which pillbox N75 has been constructed is not of special architectural or historic interest. The flood arch itself, however, is of interest and is included in this listing.