As soon as a German invasion of Britain began to seem possible, in early 1940, the Harbledown Viaduct, carrying the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway over that from London to Ramsgate, and across Whitehall Road, emerged as a strategically important site. The two railways offered enemy tanks attractive routes towards London – which had to be hindered by rail-blocks and pillboxes – whilst at the same time they served many purposes of the Home Forces, and their embankments and cuttings could readily form the basis of defensive lines. Accordingly, around the middle of that year, the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway, southwards of the viaduct, became part of the Dover, Canterbury, Whitstable Stop Line, augmented as necessary with tank obstacles. (The Stop Line was continued northwards from the viaduct by a series of anti-tank ditches, as far as the edge of the Blean Woods). The viaduct thereafter represented an important point of crossing on the stop line, which must have been controlled by road and rail blocks, and by an unusual brick-shuttered pillbox of a kind found under several viaducts on this line (this can still be seen under one of the viaduct arches). Although it lay outside the Canterbury Fortress proper, the Harbledown Viaduct was singled out for close defence in the Canterbury Fortress Defence Scheme of September 1941. 4 Platoon of ‘H’Coy of the 28 (Southern Railway) Battalion Kent Home Guard would occupy defensive positions around the viaduct, and hold them without withdrawal unless ordered by Fortress Command. (Machine guns on the Canterbury Fortress perimeter were ordered to leave a safety angle on either side of the viaduct). The following January this platoon’s task was defined as being ‘to protect the viaduct from attack from any direction’. This locality also constituted a ‘Forward Post’ of Canterbury Fortress’ own defences. The vicinity of the viaduct is overgrown and inaccessible, but it is quite likely that traces of defensive features might survive therein.
Owner : Private
Publicly accessible : No
How accessed for survey :
Tourism Potential :
Condition : unknown
Date of visit :

Canterbury Fortress headquarters, 01/01/41, War Diary Canterbury Fortress 1941 (Unpublished document). SKE15525.

Canterbury Fortress headquarters, 01/01/41, War Diary Canterbury Fortress 1941 (Unpublished document). Ske15525.

Canterbury Fortress headquarters, 01/01/42, War Diary Canterbury Fortress 1942 (Unpublished document). SKE15526.

Canterbury Fortress headquarters, 01/01/42, War Diary Canterbury Fortress 1942 (Unpublished document). Ske15526.