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Summary

The Taunton Stop Line was built in 1940, following the fall of France, as part of a series of linear anti-invasion defences planned to stop a German advance should they land on the south coast. The purpose of the Taunton Stop Line was to delay advance from the south-west. It ran across the narrowest part of the south-west peninsula from Highbridge on the Bristol Channel in the north to Axmouth on the south Devon coast. Stop Lines utilised natural obstacles such as rivers or artificial barriers such as canals and railway lines as the primary anti-tank obstacle. The Devon section of this Line principally used the River Axe for this purpose, but also used the embankments of the Southern Railway mainline. The primary anti-tank obstacle was enhanced by defensive structures including anti-tank ditches, concrete anti-tank cubes and posts, road and rail blocks, anti-tank gun emplacements, pillboxes, infantry trenches and barbed wire. See related monuments for details of individual sites, buildings and features.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Earthworks associated with Anti-tank defensive sites on the Taunton Stop Line, west of Bagley Hill Farm
• SHINE: Cropmarks of Exeter to Dorchester Roman road agger (ditch) and below-ground archaeological remains and earthworks of World War II anti-tank ditch on Taunton Stop Line (TSL), west of Axminster
• SHINE: Below ground remains of a World War II anti-tank ditch, on the Taunton Stop Line, west of New House Farm
• SHINE: Pill boxes, anti-tank ditches and obstacles, World War II at the Boshill Cross Stong Point of the Taunton Stop Line, a defensive crossing on the River Axe
• SHINE: Earthworks and structures associated with the Weycroft Defence Area on the World War Two 'Taunton Stop Line' and cropmarks of a rectangular enclosure of unknown date east of Weycroft

Other References/Statuses

• SHINE Candidate (Yes)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• STOP LINE (Constructed, World War II - 1940 AD to 1940 AD)

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1946 - 1949, Royal Air Force Aerial Photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDV342938.

Stretches of anti-tank ditches and obstacles are visible at bridgeheads, particularly around Axe Bridge.

Hellis, J., 1990, List of Defensive Sites (Un-published). SDV99101.

Hellis, J., 1992, The Taunton Stop Line, 39-47 (Article in Serial). SDV130111.

Second World War linear defences, 71 kilometres in length, running north-south from Bridgwater in Somerset to Axmouth. It was built in 1940 but was never fully operational.
A series of pillboxes were built along the east side of the river Axe. There were also sixteen 6 pounder gun emplacements. The original plan envisaged infantry emplacements between them but these do not seem to have been built.

Horner, W., 1994, The Taunton Stop Line (Un-published). SDV358963.

The Taunton Stop Line was a major defence system constructed in 1940 at a time when an invasion by German forces appeared to be imminent. The surviving elements of the line are thus a physical reminder of one of the most important episodes in recent English history.
The main invasion was anticipated in the southeast of England but a secondary invasion to capture the ports of the southwest peninsula and allow an advance eastwards towards London and northeast to the industrial heartland of England was also envisaged. The Taunton Stop Line was intended to seal off the southwest peninsula, holding the invading army back long enough for a counter attack to be launched. The defence line, like others across the country, was based on natural or man-made barriers such as rivers, canals and railway embankments which were strengthened by anti-tank ditches, obstacles, road blocks and pill boxes. The majority of the latter were infantry bockhouses but at strategic points there were also pill boxes for anti-tank and heavy machine guns. Infantry tenches, barbed wire and mine fields were also planned inbetween but it does not appear that these were ever built on the Taunton Stop Line.
There were also several heavily fortified towns along the Taunton Stop Line, at Chard and Ilminster in Somerset and Axminster in Devon. Their encircling defences were codenamed 'hedgehogs'.
Much of the heavy building work on the line was completed by September 1940 but by October 1940 the planned invasion had been postponed and by the summer of 1941 German attention had turned instead towards the Soviet Union. Thus the Taunton Stop Line ceased to be militarily relevant before it was finally completed. It was, therefore, never fully manned, although it was used for training exercises by both the Home Guard and the regular army.
Each element of the Stop Line was never intended to stand in isoloation. All were part of an integrated system, designed to hold back an enemy advance from the southwest and should be regarded as a coherent whole rather than as individual sites of interest. The loss of an individual pillbox for example through casual demolition or neglect diminishes our understanding of the Taunton Stop Line as a whole.

Exeter Archaeology, 2003-2004, East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Archaeological Survey, No. 1038 (Archive - Survey). SDV351568.

Taunton Stop Line. World War II linear defences running north-south from Bridgwater in Somerset to Axminster. The line is 71 kilometre long and includes a series of pillboxes and anti-tank obstacles and ditches.

Foot, W., 2005, Defence Areas. A National Study of Second World War Anti-Invasion Landscapes in England, Introduction, DA03 Weycroft (Report - Survey). SDV360266.

The Taunton Stop Line ran across the narrowest part of the south-west peninsula from Highbridge on the Bristol Channel in the north to Seaton on the south Devon coast. Its purpose was to stop a German advance from the south-west, should they land on the Cornish, Devon or Somerset coasts. The Line largely followed the natural barriers of the rivers Parrett and Axe and also man-made barriers that followed the similar route such as railways and canals. Work on construction began in July 1940, largely carried out by companies from the Royal Engineers. Detailed maps of the proposed defences survive. Defence works included gun emplacements, anti-tank devices, wire entanglements together with permament road and rail blocks, the demolition of bridges and also land mines; the main purpose being the provision of a continuous anti-tank obstacle.
There were three defence areas or hubs, Weycroft and Wadbrook in Devon and Pawlett Hill in Somerset. A secondary line planned from Axminster to Lyme Regis in case of a landing at Seaton was never built.
The Stop Line was inititally manned by units from the Field Army assisted by the Home Guard but later, as defence needs changed, the Home Guard undertook responsibility for the whole, manning those defence works that were retained as part of a system in depth.
See report DA03 for full details.

THE DEVONSHIRE ASSOCIATION, 2008, WWII Pill Boxes in the Axe Valley, 1 (Report - Survey). SDV347565.

Following the evacuation of Dunkerque in May 1940, a defence plan was produced for Britain to combat the threat of a German invasion of southern England. The basis of the plan was a series of fortified 'Stop Lines' to delay any such enemy advance. The main defence line in the south-west is the Taunton Stop Line. Following natural rivers and streams and the Taunton Canal, it ran from Pawlett Hill in Somerset to Seaton. About 40 miles long, the Stop Line was planned to have 293 pillboxes and 15 gun emplacements, many of which are still extant. Construction was overseen by the Royal Engineers, who divided the line into north, middle and south sections. Their drawings show that they altered and augmented those originally provided by the Home Defence Executive.

Rolf, B., 2009, The Taunton Stop Line: A Survey Of Second World War Pillboxes In The Axe Valley, 269-286 (Article in Serial). SDV361662.

A description of 24 pillboxes between Seaton and Bridgwater.

Passmore, A. + Passmore, M., 2010, The Taunton Stop Line (Leaflet). SDV345322.

The Devon section of the Taunton Stop Line followed the course of the River Axe on its eastern bank, from Seaton through Boshill, around Whitford, then followed the river and railway to the west of Axminster through Weycroft to Tytherleigh where it briefly entered Dorset before continuing up through Somerset.

Horner, B., 2011, The Stop-Line Way: What's in a Name?, 4-5 (Article in Serial). SDV351765.

The Taunton Stop Line is part of a massive defence construction programme begun following the evacuation from Dunkirk in June 1940. It is one of a series of Stop Lines, lines of continuous fortifications based on natural and built obstacles. Running from Burnham on Sea on the Bristol Channel to Axmouth on the East Devon Coast it was intended to stop any enemy army landing in Devon or Cornwall from advancing towards London or the industrial midlands.
Construction began in July 1940 and it was largely complete by the September with more than 300 pillboxes, 24 miles of anti-tank ditches together with road and rail blocks, anti-tank gun positions, barbed wire entanglements and bridges rigged with demolition charges.
In the event the invasion never came, thanks to the RAF and Royal Navy's control of the air and sea, and the Stop Lines never saw active service, other than for training exercises.
A new walking and cycle trail, The Stop Line Way, which is currently begin built between Seaton and Weston Super Mare, largely follows the route of the original Stop Line.

Ordnance Survey, 2017, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV359962.

The Devon section of the Taunton Stop Line followed the course of the River Axe and comprised a range of defence works such as pill boxes, anti tank devices and road and rail blocks. The polygon is indicative rather than an exact depiction of the extent of the defensive works. See linked monuments for information on individual features.

Powell-Thomas, A., 2017, The West Country's last Line of Defence. Taunton Stop Line (Monograph). SDV360594.

General Ironside's plans for the defence of Britain following the fall of France in 1940 included the provision of fortified stop lines, their purpose to cut the industrial Midlands and London off from the coast. The Taunton Stop Line was one of the major lines, the Somerset Levels being seen an ideal location from which to defend country's heartland from a German invasion and advance from the south-west peninsula.
The Line ran from the north Somerset coast near Highbridge south to Axmouth in East Devon. It utilised the river Parrett, the courses of the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal and the old Taunton and Chard Canal which was re-excavated, the Great Western and Southern railways and the river Axe, supplemented with various anti-tank obstacles and pillboxes, many of which are still extant.
It was constructed in 1940 with strategic defensive 'islands' being added to strengthen it in 1941. Initially manned by the army assisted by the Home Guard, the Home Guard gradually became fully responsible for the Line as army units were withdrawn.
See book and associated monuments for more information on individual sites.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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