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Location
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Type
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Description
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Field SW of Mount Bures level
crossing
No 2033
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Spigot Mortar Emplacement ,
GUN EMPLACEMENT
(destroyed)
Pill Box
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Records state:- Spigot mortar
position. Mount Bures, S.E. of road junction. The spigot mortar
emplacement was probably sited between the field and a vegetable
garden which bordered Hall Road. .
Pillbox located adjacent to railway line, E of Hall Farm
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W side of Railway, N of Janke's
Green Railway Bridge
No2034
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Pillbox |
High on the railway
embankment, overlooking the deep cutting on its east side, is a
brick and concrete hexagonal pillbox. It effectively overhangs the
embankment and such are the steep sides that the front faces have
been built on top of a brick-built platform which continues the
shape of the pillbox down to the ground. Thus these front faces
- from the top of the pillbox to the ground - are some 15ft high,
while the rear stands on the top of the embankment. Although the
rear is in dense hedge and thicket the pillbox appears to be of
the same type as that 350 yards to the south with steel surrounds
to the loopholes and a central anti-aircraft machine-gun well. |
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South of Nortons Railway Bridge,
Mount Bures
No2025
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Pillbox |
Aerial photographs
taken in 1960, 1970 & 1990 show an hexagonal pillbox, with a
central anti-aircraft machine-gun well, standing on the west side
of the railway on the line of the former WWII anti-tank ditch, approx.
150yds south of Nortons Railway Bridge. Although the site has not
been visited, this pillbox can be clearly seen from the train. It
stands high on the embankment and is of the same brick-faced, very
tall type with steel loophole surrounds |
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East of Thatchers' Arms, Mount
Bures
No 2031
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Pillbox |
 Just
a few yards from the railway line, on the east side, is a concrete,
hexagonal pillbox. This position is where the anti-tank ditch of
the Eastern Command Line 'crossed' from west to east before continuing
on its path towards Bures. The pillbox stood between the railway
and the ditch. It is an unusual type, 19ft 2in across, 3ft 6in thick,
with its entrance on the west face. There are 5 small loopholes
measuring 9 x 6 inches flaring out to 16 x 6 inches. But the east
loophole, looking out across the former ditch and open fields, is
very large 32in wide by 17in high flaring out to 59 x 26 inches.
Beneath this, inside the pillbox, is a 6in thick concrete machine-gun
table. This spans the complete width of the inner wall, 82in, tapering
towards the centre of the pillbox to a width of 36in. Its depth
from the wall is 32in. It is not known which type of machine-gun
this pillbox was designed to house although the size of the table
and its height below the level of the loophole suggests a Vickers
heavy machine-gun. At the time of this entry, with over 1,000 WWII
sites recorded, this design of pillbox is unique in the county.
Coupled with the concrete blocks (SMR 20028) and 'hairpins' (SMR
20030) this trio forms a rare compound site. |
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W Side of Railway, N of Nortons
Railway Bridge
No2027
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Pillbox |
 Aerial
photographs taken in 1960, 1970 and 1990 show an hexagonal pillbox,
with a central anti-aircraft machine-gun well, standing on the west
side of the railway on the line of the former WWII anti-tank ditch
, approx. 180 yards north of Nortons Railway Bridge. Although the
site has not been visited, this pillbox can be clearly seen from
the train. It stands high on the embankment and is of the same brick-faced,
very tall type with steel loophole surrounds, Contemporary records
refer to this pillbox as no. S.63. |
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Nortons Railway Bridge, Mount
Bures
No2026
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Road Barrier TANK TRAP
(destroyed) |
Records state:- Road
Barrier at Nortons Railway Bridge, Mount Bures. The anti-tank ditch
ran along the top of the embankment on the W side of the railway
line at this point and the road barrier would have maintained the
integrity of the anti-tank defences between the ditches to the N
and S of the road. |
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E of Thatcher's Arms, Mount Bures
No 2028
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Anti-Tank Blocks, TANK
TRAP |
 Beside
the W side of the railway line at this point are eight, 5’
square, concrete blocks in a staggered pattern. This is where the
anti-tank ditch of the Eastern Command Line ended on the W side
of the railway to continue northwards on the E side. This was necessitated
by the changed lie of the railway line S of here it ran in a cutting
but N of here it was on a raised embankment. These blocks, coupled
with the rare pillbox (No 20031) and hairpins (No 20030) form a
compound site of three different defence types, each supporting
the others. |
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E of Thatcher's Arms, Mount Bures
No2029
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Railway Barrier
TANK TRAP
(destroyed)
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Between the anti-tank
blocks on the W side of the railway and the hairpins on the E side
is a distance of perhaps 20 yards which would have been bridged
by anti-tank obstacles. Across the line itself, moveable obstacles
would have maintained the integrity of the defences although it
is not known at the present time what form these took. However,
an aerial photograph taken in 1949 shows two parallel rows of small
white dots smaller than cubes bridging the gap between the railway
line and the position of the hairpins. There were perhaps 9 or 10
dots in each row, many close together. It is not known what these
were, perhaps pimples although these were usually in a staggered
formation or the concrete footings of hedgehog lengths of railway
line. |
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E of Thatcher's
Arms, Mount Bures
No 2030
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Anti-Tank
Hairpins,
TANK TRAP |
 Just
inside a wide field 15 yards from the E side of the railway line
and 7 yards from the pillbox are five anti-tank hairpins lengths
of railway line, bent, with each end concreted into the ground.
They stand up to 4’4 high with a 5’9 spread, the total
area of the site being approx. 12’ x 8’. . These hairpins
would have stood at the S end of the anti-tank ditch which stretched
northwards to Bures. Anti-tank hairpins are rare survivors in Essex.
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| Broomfield
Cottage, Mount Bures |
Anti-Tank Blocks ,
Pillbox
Road Barrier ,
More detailed explanation see
below
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Broomfield Cottage, Mount Bures
No2036
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Anti-Tank Blocks ,
TANK TRAP
(destroyed)
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Contemporary records
state, Spigot mortar position & concrete cubes. Broomfield Cottage,
Mount Bures, Front garden. Broomfield Cottage stands on the N side
of the bend in Hall Road, now re-routed some yards further S, but
nothing more is known of these blocks. |
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Field SW of Mount Bures level
crossing
No2034
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Pillbox
(destroyed) |
Contemporary
records state, Pillbox & spigot mortar position. O.S. No. 76,
arable field S.W. of and adj. railway crossing. Map dated 1961 shows
a hexagonal shape in the NW corner of this field on the S side of
the road. An aerial photograph taken in 1949 shows the pillbox indistinctly
possibly an FW3/22 with its entrance on the NW face. Between 1960
and 1970 the bend in the road W of the level crossing was slightly
straightened and the site of the pillbox is probably now in the
roadway. |
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Near level crossing, Mount Bures
No2037
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Road Barrier , TANK
TRAP
(destroyed) |
Contemporary records
state, Road Barrier. Near Level Crossing, Mount Bures. This map
reference is clearly incorrect and no further information is known
of this road barrier. There would appear to be three possibilities.
The anti-tank ditch passed from S to N along the E side of the railway,
crossing Old Barn Road and Hall Road a few yards to the E of the
pillbox.. This entry could refer to a road barrier at either of
these points. Or, combined with the concrete cubes at Broomfield
Cottage there could have been a road barrier some 70 yards W of
the level crossing although this seems a lot less of a possibility. |
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Broomfield Cottage, Mount Bures
No2035
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Spigot Mortar Emplacement
GUN EMPLACEMENT
(destroyed
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Contemporary records state, Spigot
mortar position & concrete cubes. Front garden. Broomfield
Cottage stands on the N side of the bend in Hall Road, now re-routed
some yards further S, but nothing more is known of this emplacement.
Example of Gun Emplacement, some were below
ground as shown, others were at ground level protected by concrete
re-inforced walls.
B & W pic courtesy of www.pillboxesuk.co.uk
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