From 1940 there was a Category ‘A’ Nodal Point at a Crossroads on the Dover Road at Denne Hill, near Barham (Military Grid Reference R 6667). Earlier that year, military planners had noted that in Northern France, the German tanks had tended to follow roads – deviating only rarely and returning to them at the first opportunity. They observed that the narrower, and more winding roads of South-East England converged much more frequently on towns and villages. These towns and villages often already had their own Home Guard arrangements in place, and accommodated various billeted military units. They therefore saw the opportunity to disrupt and delay any invasion by forming garrisons at well-connected villages. Thus a series of Nodal Points, such as this, were established across the countryside. The ‘X Roads’ Nodal Point, as it was known, at Barham may have been somewhat unusual in that it was not centred on the village itself, but on a nearby crossroads. Might this have been because there was a massive garrison available at the adjacent Broome Park? Several associated roadblocks and pillboxes surrounded the former crossroads (the road layout has since been altered dramatically).
Owner : Unknown
Publicly accessible : Yes
How accessed for survey :
Tourism Potential :
Condition : Destroyed
Date of visit :

CBA Defence of Britain Project (Digital archive). SKE15137.

CBA Defence of Britain Project (Digital archive). Ske15137.

List of VPs appendix to South Eastern Army Operations Instruction No. 20 (Unpublished document). SKE15136.

List of VPs appendix to South Eastern Army Operations Instruction No. 20 (Unpublished document). Ske15136.