Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Good condition World War II type 28 A pillbox. Forming part of Hoo stop line (GHQ line) anti invasion defences 1940. Facing east. A rectangular structure for three or six pounder guns. Recorded in a gazetteer of defence heritage sites in Kent and last seen in good coondition although overgrown.

Monument Types

• PILLBOX (Modern - 1940 AD to 1945 AD)

Full description

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Standard concrete construction pillbox with 7 embrasures.
Owner : Private
Publicly accessible : No
How accessed for survey :
Tourism Potential : Possible heritage trail
Condition : good
Date of visit : 11/05/06

Description from record TQ 77 SE 147:
Eastern edge of field. Rectangular for 3-pr. or 6-p. QF. In good condition but overgrown. (1)

A rectangular anti-tank gun emplacement of concrete construction with brick shuttering. Roof with chamfered edge. A type 28 to house a two or six-pounder quick-firing gun facing north along the stop-line. Type 28s are rarer than type 24s and are a much larger form of pillbox requiring a large rear entrance to wheel in the gun and a larger embrasure for the same, supported by smaller infantry embrasures.

The pillbox is deliberately located behind (to the west of) a hedge line to cover the anti-tank ditch (now in-filled) and field approaches to their north and east. The landscape here is relatively low-lying but the pillbox has been positioned to take advantage of a slight rise just below the Hoo St Werburgh ridge, providing the pillboxes with greater fields of fire. (2)

This pillbox is mentioned in the English Heritage report on the Second World War Stop Line on the Hoo Peninsula, part of the wider study of the Hoo Peninsula. The report states that this is 'A Second World War reinforced concrete Type 28 artillery pillbox with brick shuttering to the east of Bells Lane and south of Ratcliffe Highway, on the east side of Hoo St Werburg. The pillbox served as a gun emplacement for a 2-pounder or 6-pounder Quick Firing gun. The roof features chamfered edges. The structure has flat embrasures, possibly a feature of the Type 28 pollbox in this area. The pillbox is visible on aerial photographs of 2013. It is listed at NHLE at Grade II, NHLE 1391937." (3)

MMRG, 11/05/06, Type 28 A Pill box (Photograph). SKE14518.

MMRG, 11/05/06, Type 28 A Pill box (Photograph). Ske14518.

11th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment, 18/01/41, War diary (Collection). SKE14301.

11th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment, 18/01/41, War diary (Collection). Ske14301.

<1> Victor Smith and Ron Crowdy, Thames Gateway Assesment: Gazetteer of Defence Sites (Index). SKE6445.

<2> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

<3> historic england, 2014, Hoo Peninsula Landscape Project: Second World War Stop Line: Hoo St Werburgh to Higham Marshes. Research Report 9-2014. (Bibliographic reference). SKE31599.

Sources and further reading

Related records