Monument Number 1541055 |
| Hob Uid: 1541055 | |
Location :
East Sussex
Eastbourne
Non Civil Parish
|
| Grid Ref : TV6135109838 |
| Summary : A Second World War defensive road block is visible on vertical aerial photographs of 1940 as a solid structure at the eastern end of Carlisle Road, Eastbourne. The road block had been removed by the time of vertical aerial photographs of 1944. This feature has been mapped from aerial photographs as part of the South East RCZAS NMP project. |
More information : The Second World War road block is centred at TV 6135 9839, to the north of the Martello Tower (Monument Number 470260). It measures approximately 24m wide by 2m deep. It appears to consist of a series of large rectangular blocks which form an irregular barricade across the road. Butler (2007:66) suggests that these were in fact beach huts which had been laid on their sides and filled with pebbles. Similar road blocks existed along the length of the Eastbourne seafront, and would have been intended to hinder enemy progress in the event of invasion.
By the time of the vertical aerial photograph of 1944, the road block had been removed along with all the others along the seafront at Eastbourne. This seems to have coincided with the installation of anti-invasion scaffolding at the northern end of the Eastbourne seafront. It may have been decided that the presence of the scaffolding rendered the road blocks obsolete (1-3). |