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| HER Number: | MDV125708 |
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| Name: | Boshill Cross Strong Point |
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Summary
One of the nodal strong points on the Second World War Taunton Stop Line which was given extra defences to protect the road crossing over the river at Axe Bridge. A series of anti-tank ditches, obstacles and pillboxes is visible on RAF aerial photos, creating a bridgehead on the east side of the River Axe. The bridge itself was prepared for demolition by buried explosives. See related monuments for details of individual sites, buildings and features.
Location
| Grid Reference: | SY 261 926 |
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| Map Sheet: | SY29SE |
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| Admin Area | Devon |
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| Civil Parish | Axmouth |
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| Civil Parish | Colyton |
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| District | East Devon |
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| Ecclesiastical Parish | COLYTON |
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| Ecclesiastical Parish | AXMOUTH |
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Protected Status
- 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
Other References/Statuses
Monument Type(s) and Dates
- STRONGPOINT (Constructed, World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
Full description
Royal Air Force, 1946 - 1949, Royal Air Force Aerial Photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDV342938.
A series of anti-tank ditches, obstacles and pillboxes is visible on the east side of the River Axe, providing a ring of protection around Axe Bridge.
Vienot, J., 1994, Camouflaged Pill Boxes and Axmouth Bridge (Personal Comment). SDV356840.
A number of the pillboxes were camouflaged. Those around Axe bridge were disguised as haystacks.
Horner, W., 1994, The Taunton Stop Line (Un-published). SDV358963.
The Axe Bridge was of strategic importance and was well protected with pill boxes and other defences. Concrete anti-tank obstacles were placed along the river bank to the north of the bridge, presumably to prevent fording at a shallow point. Some of these have now been put into the river bank south of the bridge to help prevent erosion. A bridgehead, about 0.5 square kilometres, was surrounded by an anti-tank ditch. This is clearly visible on the 1946 aerial photos and would have been about 5.0 metres wide and 2.5 metres deep. At points where a ditch was impractical concrete obstacles completed the circuit. Within the ditch circuit was a concentration of seven pillboxes including an anti-tank machine gun emplacement.
THE DEVONSHIRE ASSOCIATION, 2008, WWII Pill Boxes in the Axe Valley, 3-4 (Report - Survey). SDV347565.
During the Second World War an anti tank gun emplacement sited to cover the approach to the bridge. It was so positioned that it would not bear on the bridge itself, which was prepared for demolition by buried explosives.
Sources / Further Reading
| SDV342938 | Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946 - 1949. Royal Air Force Aerial Photographs. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Digital). [Mapped feature: #117586 ] |
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| SDV347565 | Report - Survey: THE DEVONSHIRE ASSOCIATION. 2008. WWII Pill Boxes in the Axe Valley. Devonshire Association. Digital + A4. 3-4. |
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| SDV356840 | Personal Comment: Vienot, J.. 1994. Camouflaged Pill Boxes and Axmouth Bridge. Not Applicable. |
| SDV358963 | Un-published: Horner, W.. 1994. The Taunton Stop Line. A4 Single Sheet + Digital. |
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Associated Monuments
| MDV106495 | Parent of: Anti-invasion Defensive Barrier to east of Axe Bridge, Axminster (Monument) |
| MDV52899 | Parent of: Anti-Tank Cubes circa 152 metres south of Axe Bridge (Monument) |
| MDV47883 | Parent of: Anti-Tank Defence to northeast of Axe Bridge (Monument) |
| MDV80437 | Parent of: Anti-tank Gun Emplacement South-east of Axe Bridge, Colyton (Monument) |
| MDV124452 | Parent of: Anti-Tank Obstacle(s) circa 75 metres north of Boshill Cross, Axmouth (Monument) |
| MDV124540 | Parent of: Anti-Tank Obstacle, 300 metres south of Boshill Cross, Axmouth (Monument) |
| MDV47887 | Parent of: Anti-Tank Obstacles circa 235 metres north of Axe Bridge, Axmouth (Monument) |
| MDV124536 | Parent of: Anti-Tank Obstacles circa 342 metres and 349 metres northeast of Axe Bridge (Monument) |
| MDV49827 | Parent of: Anti-Tank Obstacles east of the River Axe (Monument) |
| MDV47882 | Parent of: Anti-Tank Obstacles to north of Boxhill Cottages, Axmouth (Monument) |
| MDV72481 | Parent of: Anti-Tank Sockets 350 metres south of Boshill Cross, Axmouth (Monument) |
| MDV39418 | Parent of: Pillbox at Boshill Cross, Axmouth (Monument) |
| MDV39357 | Parent of: Pillbox S.76 circa 190 metres north-northeast of Axe Bridge, Axmouth (Monument) |
| MDV39359 | Parent of: Pillbox S.77 180 metres northeast of Axe Bridge (Monument) |
| MDV72424 | Parent of: Pillbox S.80 200 metres south of Boshill Cross, Axmouth (Monument) |
| MDV39358 | Parent of: Pillbox S.81 circa 252 metres south-southeast of Axe Bridge, Colyton (Monument) |
| MDV106485 | Parent of: Pillbox South of Boshill Cross (Monument) |
| MDV72487 | Parent of: Roadblock S.Rd.68 at Boshill Cross, Axmouth (Monument) |
| MDV72488 | Parent of: Roadblock S.RD.69 on Axe Bridge (Monument) |
| MDV39361 | Parent of: Structure 350 metres south of Boshill Cross, Axmouth (Monument) |
| MDV119535 | Part of: The Taunton Stop Line (Monument) |
| MDV28718 | Related to: Axe Bridge, Colyton (Monument) |
Associated Finds: none recorded
Associated Events
- EDV5167 - Survey of Pillboxes in the Axe Valley
| Date Last Edited: | Jul 26 2024 12:46PM |
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