Summary

Surrounded by blackthorn bushes on top of the railway embankment are three large concrete blocks where the former anti-tank ditch met the railway cutting.

Full description

Surrounded by blackthorn bushes on top of the railway embankment are three large concrete blocks where the former anti-tank ditch met the railway cutting.

No. 1 - this is a 5' cube with two 6" diameter holes passing horizontally through it. Tied through the holes, in a loop, is a steel hawser the end of which has been cut off. The block is covered in steel "hooks" and there is a 12" length of girder sticking out of the top. No. 2 - another 5' cube, 11'6" from the first. It has one 6" hole through it which exactly lines up with one of the holes in No. 1. There are similar hooks and a girder. It is probable that originally the hawser passed through block No. 2 and then across the railway line to form a barrier. The hooks may have been for camouflage netting or barbed wire entanglements. No. 3 is 14' away. It is 2' high, 3' square and has seven bolts round a circular depression. Although clearly a mounting block the purpose of it is unknown. Three photos of site. <1>

<1> Nash, Fred, 1996, WWII defences, three frames (Photograph). SEX31461.

Monument Types

• ANTI TANK BLOCK (WWII, Modern - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)

Protected Status

• Historic Environment Character Zone: Chelmsford 2.11
• Historic Environment Character Area: Chelmsford 2

Sources and further reading

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