Monument record TQ 77 SE 100 - World War II Pillbox south of Ratcliffe Highway, Hoo St. Werburgh

Concrete type 24 pillbox facing E narrow wall version with brick skin (1).

This feature is noted in the English Heritage report on the Second World War Stop Line which ran from Hoo St Werburgh to Higham Marshes. The report states that this is "a Second World War reinforced concrete Type 24 pillbox with brick shuttering and is located to the east of Bells Lane and south of Ratcliffe Highway, on the east side of Hoo St Werburgh. The pillbox is a narrow wall version with a brick skin, with the irregularity of no brickwork above the embrasure. The pillbox survives as an extant structure and is listed at Grade II, NHLE 139 1937. The pillbox was located during a field visit in 2014." (2)

Description from record TQ 77 SE 1309:
Standard concrete construction infantry pillbox. No access, though visible through hedge..
Owner : Private
Publicly accessible : No
How accessed for survey :
Tourism Potential : Possible heritage trail
Condition : good
Date of visit : 11/05/06

A hexagonal brick-shuttered concrete pillbox. An infantry pillbox of type 24 facing ENE across the line of the former anti-tank ditch. Lack of brickwork above the embrasures is a feature unique to this particular part of the GHQ Line, presumably particular to an individual contractor.

The pillbox is deliberately located behind (to the west of) a hedge line to cover the anti-tank ditch (now in-filled) and field approaches to their north and east. The landscape here is relatively low-lying but the pillbox has been positioned to take advantage of a slight rise just below the Hoo St Werburgh ridge, providing the pillboxes with greater fields of fire. (3)

Concrete pillbox with brick shuttering. Pillbox.Concrete type 24 pillbox facing E: narrow wall version with brick skin. At orchard gate near footpath to Five Bells Lane, S of Ratcliffe Highway, Hoo. (1)

North-east facing Type 24 pillbox with the irregularity of no brickwork above the embrasure. It is situated furthest south in a line of in total of four pillboxes (see HOB UIDs 1418711, 1426745 and 1418683). Grade II listed. (2)

The Second World War pillbox described in authorities 1 and 2 is visible on aerial photographs and has been mapped as part of the English Heritage: Hoo Peninsula Landscape Project. The pillbox is one element within the supporting defences of a Stop Line (Monument 1542577) constructed in 1940 across the south western third of the Hoo Peninsula, from the north bank of the Medway to the south bank of the Thames at Higham Creek. Other elements of the Stop Line defence system in the immediate vicinity of this pillbox include part of the anti tank ditch (Monument 1542610 and Monument 1542630), the pillboxes noted in authority 2, and two additional small structures, probably representing gun emplacements (Monuments ?? and ???). (3-4)

<1> Not applicable, SMR Kent uncatalogued index entry, site visit by VTC Smith 10/9/1995 (Miscellaneous Material). SKE6440.

<2> historic england, 2014, Hoo Peninsula Landscape Project: Second World War Stop Line: Hoo St Werburgh to Higham Marshes. Research Report 9-2014. (Bibliographic reference). SKE31599.

<3> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

<4> MMRG, 21/05/06, Pillbox Type 24 (Photograph). SKE14647.

<5> 11th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment, 08/01/41, War Diary (Collection). SKE14646.

<6> 11th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment, 08/01/41, War Diary (Collection). Ske14646.

<7> MMRG, 21/05/06, Pillbox Type 24 (Photograph). Ske14647.

<8> Council for British Archaeology, 2002, Defence of Britain Project (Digital archive). SKE32029.