Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

World War II underground operational base SW of Bently Cottage, Snargate. It was built to be used in the event of a German invasion so that saboteurs could hide and operate behind the invaders lines. A rectangular room, 7 x 8 x 15 ft with brick walls, concrete floor and a roof concealed below ground level by a dyke. It was entered by 12 ft shafts at either end. In good condition except for an inch of water and the original shaft lids missing. Scheduled.

Summary from record TQ 92 NE 88:

Auxiliary Unit Hide at Snargate, Operational Base hide with 2 rectangular brick/concrete shafts, now flooded

Monument Types

• AUXILIARY HIDE (Abandoned 1945?, Modern - 1940 AD? to 2050 AD)

Full description

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(TQ 98352832) World War II underground operational base SW of Bently Cottage, Snargate. It was built to be used in the event of a German invasion so that saboteurs could hide and operate behind the invaders lines. A rectangular room, 7 x 8 x 15 ft with brick walls, concrete floor and a roof concealed below ground level by a dyke. It was entered by 12 ft shafts at either end. In good condition except for an inch of water and the original shaft lids missing. Scheduled. (1)

Description from record TQ 92 NE 88:
Auxiliary Unit Hide at Snargate, Operational Base hide with 2 rectangular brick/concrete shafts, now flooded. (1)

Summary of Monument

World War II auxiliary hide or underground observational post.
Reasons for Designation

From the summer of 1940 England's defences were strengthened against the threat of German invasion. A large number and diversity of defensive structures were built across the whole country, from road and rail blocks to underground ‘hides’, from earthwork gun emplacements to barbed wire entanglements, anti-tank ditches and pillboxes. The most substantial of these were the pillboxes, small reinforced concrete or brick buildings of a diversity of shapes and forms, designed to house either infantry, anti-tank guns or field artillery. The full range of defensive structures was generally complementary, however, and a variety of structures were therefore built together, either at vulnerable or strategically important nodal points, along the coast, on the communications network, around vital installations such as airfields, or arranged in linear defensive systems called Stop Lines that were intended to obstruct the enemy's advance.

An auxiliary hide was a Second World War secret base, forming part of Britain’s anti-invasion defences. Sometimes partially underground, they were intended for the use of the British resistance in the eventuality of an invasion. In the event of a German invasion it was intended that saboteurs or resistance fighters should hide at the post and operate behind the invaders' lines.

Despite some later alterations, the World War II auxiliary hide 462m south-west of Bentley Cottage is a good example of its type which survives well. The base is cleverly concealed and well demonstrates a significant aspect of England’s anti-invasion strategy, acting as an operating position for saboteurs following the landing of enemy forces on the south coast.
History

See Details
Details

This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes a World War II auxiliary hide or underground observational post surviving as upstanding and below-ground remains. It is situated on low-lying ground on Walland Marsh, north of Snargate Lane near Snargate.

The auxiliary hide is a rectangular room 2.1m by 2.4m by 4.6m with brick-lined walls and a concrete floor and roof. It is concealed below-ground next to a drain in a field on Walland Marsh. The hide is entered through 3.7m shafts at either end. Iron bars in the brick work form steps down through each of the shafts into the room below. The interior is separated from the entrance shafts by dwarf walls and retains its original water tank but no other fittings. There would originally have been two sets of three-tier bunk beds, a central table, benches and cupboards along the side walls.(3)

Historic England archive material: DEB01 Defence of Britain This material has not yet been fully catalogued. Copyright, date, and quantity information for this record may be incomplete or inaccurate.Box files containing the record sheets gathered from participants in the Defence of Britain Project. The project recorded, with the help of volunteers, the remains of military structures in Britain. The collection is arranged by county and split between anti-invasion and non anti-invasion defences. The record sheets record the visible structures and include location details, structure type and purpose and include photographs.

<1> DOE(IAM) Record Form plan 21 11 75 (OS Card Reference). SKE41448.

<1> CBA Defence of Britain Project, 1994, Defence of Britain Site Report (Bibliographic reference). SKE6447.

<3> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

Sources and further reading