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Summary

Site of a Second World War railway guardhouse that formerly stood beside the railway line. It is visible as a structure on aerial photographs taken between 1946 and 1988. It was demolished between February 1998 and July 1999.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX86SE/155
• Torbay HER: MTO55645

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• PILLBOX (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/3G/TUD/UK/223, RAF/3G/TUD/UK223 5097-5098 12-JUL-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV352279.

A structure is visible.

RAF, 1949, RAF/58/209 Vp2, RAF/58/209 5063-5064 15-APR-1949 (Aerial Photograph). SDV352287.

An L-shaped structure is visible.

Jury, R, 1996, Defence of Britain Worksheet (Worksheet). SDV316546.

Site vist 13th April 1996. Brick and concrete pillbox in railway cutting to rear of Hollicombe Beach.

Ford, M., 1998, Hollacombe Railway Siding Guard House (Worksheet). SDV362142.

Site visit 7th February 1998. Concrete building set into the railway embankment, with three gun slits giving a ninety degree sweep of fire. The building was approximately six feet wide and nine feet long. The guard house entrance was open at the time of the visit, but otherwise the site was fenced and inside the main Torquay to Paignton railway line boundary. Other details: photo

Fiorato, V.J., 1999, Hollacombe Railway Guard House (Worksheet). SDV362143.

Site visit 7th July 1999. Building had been demolished and all debris removed.

Channel Coast Observatory, 2001-2012, Channel Coast Observatory Aerial Photography, Channel Coastal Observatory SX8962_20120918ortho.ecw 18-SEP-2012 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351226.

No remains are visible in this location.

Foot, W., 2005, Defence Areas. A National Study of Second World War Anti-Invasion Landscapes in England, DA64 - S0006592, Fig. 8 (Report - Survey). SDV360266.

Pillbox removed in recent years. A photo taken in 1998 shows the pillbox set into the east side of the railway cutting near the bridge over the railway to Chadwell Court. Its demolition, presumably because it was considered a track side danger, is considered to be an unfortunate loss as it was the only defence work here that protected the railway itself, rather than using the embankment as a backing to seaward facing defences.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2013-2014, South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV351146.

This Second World War defensive structure was visible on aerial photographs between 1946 and 1988. It was L-shaped in plan and measured approximately 4 by 3 metres. When surveyed for the Defence of Britain Project this structure was recorded as a railway guardhouse, with three gun slits, which suggests it is a local variant type of pillbox. The structure is not visible on any later available aerial photographs, which correlates with a demolition date between February 1998 and July 1999.

Ordnance Survey, 2019, MasterMap 2019 (Cartographic). SDV362729.

Building marked.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV316546	Worksheet: Jury, R. 1996. Defence of Britain Worksheet. Defence of Britain Project. Worksheet.
SDV351146	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2013-2014. South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV351226	Aerial Photograph: Channel Coast Observatory. 2001-2012. Channel Coast Observatory Aerial Photography. Channel Coast Observatory. Digital. Channel Coastal Observatory SX8962_20120918ortho.ecw 18-SEP-2012.
SDV352279	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/3G/TUD/UK/223. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/3G/TUD/UK223 5097-5098 12-JUL-1946.
SDV352287	Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1949. RAF/58/209 Vp2. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Print. RAF/58/209 5063-5064 15-APR-1949.
SDV360266	Report - Survey: Foot, W.. 2005. Defence Areas. A National Study of Second World War Anti-Invasion Landscapes in England. Council for British Archaeology/English Heritage. Digital. DA64 - S0006592, Fig. 8.
SDV362142	Worksheet: Ford, M.. 1998. Hollacombe Railway Siding Guard House. Defence of Britain Project. Worksheet + Digital.
SDV362143	Worksheet: Fiorato, V.J.. 1999. Hollacombe Railway Guard House. Worksheet.
SDV362729	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 2019. MasterMap 2019. Ordnance Survey Digital Mapping. Digital. [Mapped feature: #119612 ]

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6127 - Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme (NMP) for South-West England - South Coast Devon (Ref: ACD618)
• EDV7667 - Defence of Britain site visits by M. J. Ford to World War II Monuments
• EDV7779 - World War II sites in Torbay
• EDV7670 - Defence of Britain site visits

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