See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

Rectangular heavy machine gun type pillbox with blast wall and door on south side. Visible as a structure on aerial photographs taken from 1947 onwards. Part of the Wadbrook defence area on the Second World War Taunton Stop Line constructed in 1940.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: World War II pillbox about 330 metres south-east of Wadbrook Farmhouse , part of the Taunton Stop Line

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: 1417421
• Old DCC SMR Ref: ST30SW/126

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• PILLBOX (Built, World War II - 1940 AD to 1940 AD)

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1947, CPE/UK/1974/3421 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363126.

Pillbox visible on 1947 RAF aerial photo. Rectangular Heavy Machine Gun type with blast wall and door on south side. Faces west-south-west overlooking the Axe.

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FP 3420-3421 11-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV356127.

A six-sided structure with a small rectangular structure to the south is visible.

Wills, H., 1985, Pillboxes. A Study of UK Defences 1940, 76 (Monograph). SDV336210.

Wills lists rectangular west facing concrete pillbox at ST327014.

Horner, B., 1993, Pillboxes and Roadblocks, Colour print (Site Visit). SDV360454.

Site visit 14th May 1993. Site on ridge top visible from Axe bridge.

Dangerfield, M.E. + Dangerfield, J.D. + Tibbles, N., 1997, Pillbox at Wadbrook (Worksheet). SDV357527.

Pillbox, concrete shuttered with breeze blocks and brick interior lining, and concrete blast wall.

Dobinson, C. S., 1998, The Taunton Stop Line. Component Listing, 7 (Report - non-specific). SDV109230.

Pillbox S.V.4 of type FW3/27.

Foot, W., 2005, Defence Areas. A National Study of Second World War Anti-Invasion Landscapes in England, DA04-Wadbrook-S0001315, p3, Fig. 4 (Report - Survey). SDV360266.

Site visit 23rd January 2014. Wadbrook defence area. Vickers machine gun emplacement with detached external blast wall. Externally faced with breeze blocks. Concrete gun table. Brick lined inside. Large embrasure faces west. No access without permission. In fair condition, although some of the breeze blocks are falling away.
Described as a fine example of a Vickers medium machine gun emplacements. One of two such emplacements that stand close together on the brow of a hill overlooking the river Axe.

Google, 2015, Google Earth Pro, EARTH.GOOGLE.COM 15-AUG-2016 ACCESSED 10-APR-2017 (Aerial Photograph). SDV359580.

The western part of the structure is visible, the hedgebank on the east partly obscuring the other side.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2016-2018, The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV359463.

A small six-sided structure, 4 by 5.5 metres, is visible on aerial photographs taken from 1947 onwards, with a smaller structure half a metre to the south visible on the 1940s aerial photographs. It corresponds to the location of the Second World War pillbox S.V.4 marked on Royal Engineers plans for the 1940 Taunton Stop Line. The detached structure to the south appears to be a blast wall but has either been removed or obscured by tree cover on recent aerial photographs. Not all of the structure is depicted on the modern mapping so it has been transcribed.

Powell-Thomas, A., 2017, The West Country's last Line of Defence. Taunton Stop Line, 76 (Monograph). SDV360594.

Some of the external bricks are falling off.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV109230	Report - non-specific: Dobinson, C. S.. 1998. The Taunton Stop Line. Component Listing. Twentieth Century Fortifications in England. AI/S/3. Photocopy. 7.
SDV336210	Monograph: Wills, H.. 1985. Pillboxes. A Study of UK Defences 1940. Pillboxes. Hardback Volume. 76.
SDV356127	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1947. RAF/CPE/UK/1974. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/CPE/UK/1974 FP 3420-3421 11-APR-1947. [Mapped feature: #93272 ]
SDV357527	Worksheet: Dangerfield, M.E. + Dangerfield, J.D. + Tibbles, N.. 1997. Pillbox at Wadbrook. Defence of Britain Project. Worksheet + Digital.
SDV359463	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2016-2018. The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme Project. Historic England Research Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:2
SDV359580	Aerial Photograph: Google. 2015. Google Earth Pro. Various. Digital. EARTH.GOOGLE.COM 15-AUG-2016 ACCESSED 10-APR-2017.
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. DA04-Wadbrook-S0001315, p3, Fig. 4.
SDV360454	Site Visit: Horner, B.. 1993. Pillboxes and Roadblocks. Not Applicable. Colour print.
SDV360594	Monograph: Powell-Thomas, A.. 2017. The West Country's last Line of Defence. Taunton Stop Line. The West Country's last Line of Defence. Taunton Stop Line. Paperback Volume. 76.
SDV363126	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1947. CPE/UK/1974/3421. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper).

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7508 - The Blackdown Hills AONB and East Devon River Catchments National Mapping Programme (NMP) project (Ref: ACD1228)

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.