Monument record TQ 77 SW 68 - World War II Pillbox, Cardens Wood, Cliffe

Type 24. Good condition. (1)

This feature is recorded in the English Heritage report on the Second World War Stop Line for the Hoo Peninsula. The report states: "Second World War Type 24 pillbox in good condition located about 100m due south from the junction of Cooling Common and Cooling Street, Cooling at the edge of Berry Court Wood, near the foot of a north west facing slope, overlooking an apparent gap between the wood and a section of the Stop Line's anti-tank ditch. Condition - it was recorded on 1944, 1953 and 2007 aerial photographs. It was seen to be in good condition from a public footpath during a 2014 site visit. Recorded in good condition during the Defence of Britain Project." (2)

Concrete pillbox with brick shuttering.

Type 24 pillbox in good condition. About 100 metres due S from the junction of Cooling Common and Cooling Street, Cooling. (1)

The pillbox described in authority 1 is located at the edge of Berry Court Wood, near the foot of a north west facing slope. This structure 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. This pillbox overlooks an apparent gap between the wood and a section of the Stop Line's anti tank ditch (Monument 1542694). The pillbox and the rest of the Stop Line defence system have been mapped from aerial photographs as part of the English Heritage: Hoo Peninsula Landscape Project. (2-4)

<1> Victor Smith and Ron Crowdy, Thames Gateway Assesment: Gazetteer of Defence Sites (Index). SKE6445.

<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.

<3-4> Council for British Archaeology, 2002, Defence of Britain Project (Digital archive). SKE32029.