Second World War anti-invasion structures, Chard, Somerset

Summary

Second World War defences, part of the Taunton Stop Line and Chard anti-tank island. They comprise six pillboxes, three gun emplacements, two rail blocks and anti-tank obstacles including cubes and ditches, erected in 1940-41.

Description

Second World War defences comprising six pillboxes, three gun emplacements, two rail blocks and anti-tank obstacles including cubes and ditches on the route of the former Southern Railway, erected in 1940-41 and forming part of the Taunton Stop Line.

MATERIALS: constructed of shuttered and reinforced concrete.

PLAN: a group of defensive structures to the E and SE of Chard which are concentrated along the line of the former railway, with a further N-S alignment between the A30 and the railway forming part of Chard’s anti-tank island.

DESCRIPTION: running NW to SE along the line of the former railway are the following structures:

GUN EMPLACEMENT, MAT611 (ST 33468 08468) is situated on the NE side of the railway cutting. It was initially part of the Stop Line and latterly formed part of the anti-tank island. It has a polygonal plan with walls of shuttered concrete on all sides. Interior inaccessible (2016) due to vegetation growth, but the Historic Environment Record refers to a document in the Public Record Office which describes it as having contained a ‘steel pedestal mount’ for a 6-pounder anti-tank gun. This is likely to survive.

PILLBOX, M23 (ST 33601 08395) was built between July and November 1940 and is located on the E side of the railway embankment. It formed part of the Stop Line and was later incorporated into the anti-tank island. It is a type 24; a standard design issued by the War Office Directorate of Fortifications and Works 3, and is constructed of shuttered concrete with a large chamfered top. It is polygonal on plan with five loopholes; designed for the Bren light machine gun or the Boys anti-tank rifle. The two rear loops are smaller than usual, and almost square, and lack any internal lowering on which a weapon could be rested. Within the pillbox is a Y-shaped anti-ricochet wall to minimise damage from any bullets entering through a loophole.

GUN EMPLACEMENT, MAT612 (ST 33815 08211) formed part of the Stop Line and was built between July and November 1940; it was later incorporated into the eastern defences of the anti-tank island. It is constructed of concrete, with no openings except for embrasures in the NW, SW and S sides. Internally, it has an octagonal gun-pit, with ammunition lockers in each wall, eight in total, and a central, cast-iron pedestal mounting for a 6-pounder anti-tank gun. The gun-pit was constructed first, and the walls and roof were added subsequently.

PILLBOX, M24 (ST 33865 08185) was built as part of the Stop Line between July and November 1940 and was later incorporated into the anti-tank island. It is a type 24 pillbox of shuttered concrete with a chamfered top. It has been partially demolished although its walls remain largely standing and the roof is upended and collapsed into the interior.

RAIL BLOCK TRLB21 (ST 33853 08122) and ANTI-TANK OBSTACLES. Work on this rail block, in its initial form was reported as completed by the end of December 1940. It is situated at the SE end of the Chard anti-tank island where it joins the Stop line, and where an anti-tank ditch crossed from one side of the railway to the other. It is a bent-rail (or hairpin) type of block, which consisted of concrete beams containing sockets into which bent or V-shaped steel rails or RSJs (rolled steel joists) could be slotted to prevent tanks driving along the railway. It was completed by December 1940 and initially comprised two rectangular concrete beams, but due to the increasing size and weight of German tanks, around May 1941 it was extended with additional rows of pre-cast beams. To the W of the rail block is a row of concrete anti-tank obstacles that are aligned N to S, although some of the cubes have been displaced slightly (the accompanying map depicts them as a straight alignment). There are 25 pyramidal-topped cubes and two with flat tops which are slightly later in date. On the E side of the rail block are four flat-topped cubes.

RAIL BLOCK, MRL19 (ST 34010 07846) and ANTI-TANK OBSTACLES. This rail block was part of the Stop Line and was abandoned in April 1941. It consists of two large, trapezoidal, reinforced concrete blocks positioned on either side of the former railway track. Each block contains a vertical slot or socket that would have held horizontal rails. To the E side of the rail block are three pyramidal-topped anti-tank cubes, and there is a single cube to the W. Smaller tetrahedra provided additional protection; there are 12 to the NE and six to the SW of the rail block.

PILLBOX, M42 (ST 34152 07833) formed part of the Stop Line and was built between July and November 1940. It was abandoned in April 1941. It is a standard type 24 pillbox of shuttered concrete with a larger chamfered top and an octagonal plan. It stands on a massive concrete base or plinth that is almost the height of the pillbox itself so that the latter was high enough to fire over the brow of a small ridge towards the rail block to the W.

Running some 430m N to S from the A30 Chard to Yeovil road to the former railway line are the following structures:

PILLBOX, T105 (ST 33771 08687) is situated within a belt of woodland on the N side of the A30, to the SE of Oaklands House. It was built as part of Chard’s anti-tank island and faces E so that it covered any approach along the main road. It is a standard type 24 pillbox with a polygonal plan. The pillbox is constructed of shuttered concrete with a flat top. Not inspected internally (2016).

PILLBOX, T106 (ST33793 08593) formed part of the anti-tank island and is a type 24 design of wooden-shuttered concrete, with an unchamfered top. It faces E, and has five loopholes and a W doorway. Within the pillbox is a Y-shaped anti-ricochet wall.

GUN EMPLACEMENT, MV8A (ST 33797 08469) was built on the Stop Line between August and October 1940 and was later incorporated into the anti-tank island. It is a type FW3/27 design, built to accommodate a Vickers medium machine. It has a rectangular plan and is constructed of shuttered concrete. The front (W) wall has a large, stepped embrasure, while the N and E sides have rifle loop holes. The doorway is in the S side and is protected by a concrete blast wall. The interior contains a concrete machine gun table.

Situated to the NW of MV8A (ST 3379 0849) was a second Vickers machine gun emplacement (MV8) which is visible on aerial photographs of c1946. It is no longer extant but a spread of concrete blocks marks its approximate location.

PILLBOX, T107 (ST 33805 08360) formed part of Chard’s anti-tank island and stands within a hedge line. It is constructed of wooden-shuttered concrete with an unchamfered top. It is a modified type 24 pillbox since it has a large loophole with internal metal shutter to its SE side. The interior has a Y-shaped anti-ricochet wall.

The section of Stop Line to the SE of Chard was strengthened with an anti-tank ditch which ran parallel with, and largely to the W of, the railway, although one section, to the S of rail block MRL19, was on the opposite side of the railway. A second anti-tank ditch was later added as part of the eastern defences of the anti-tank island. This was on a N-S alignment parallel with the defensive structures constructed between the main road (A30) and the railway. These ditches are visible on mid-C20 aerial photographs, but have since been largely infilled and are not included in the listing.

History

Following the evacuation of Dunkirk in June 1940 there was an urgent need to strengthen the country’s defences which resulted in the construction of stop lines to provide a series of anti-tank obstacles which could be used to hold up the enemy, slowing progress and restricting the route of an attack.

Work on the Taunton Stop Line, a continuous anti-tank obstacle from the N coast of Somerset to Seaton in Devon, a distance of approximately 48 miles, was carried out between June and November 1940 in response to the threat of a German invasion. Its purpose was to delay any advancing enemy armoured vehicles should they land to the W or S. The Stop Line followed the course of pre-existing obstacles such as canals, rivers and railway lines along much of its length and was built by private contractors and army personnel. The defences included over 300 pillboxes, medium machine gun and anti-tank emplacements, road and rail blocks, infantry trenches and anti-tank ditches. To the SE of Chard the Stop Line followed the route of the former Taunton to Chard branch of the Great Western Railway (closed 1966) almost as far as Chard Junction, and from where it followed the River Axe and the London and Southern Railway into Devon. From the autumn of 1940, in a separate programme of work to that of the Stop Line, anti-tank islands (all-round defences) were established at certain locations, including towns and villages, where major routes crossed the Stop Line to provide additional defences. An anti-tank island was laid out at Chard on the E side of the railway and connected with the Stop Line to the SE of the town. By April 1941, it was no longer practical to man the extensive defences constructed along the Stop Line and all but the twelve anti-tank islands and those parts of the original Stop Line that formed the western edges of the islands were abandoned. Despite the diminishing threat of invasion, these islands continued to be an essential part of anti-invasion plans. Even after the D-Day landings, inland defences in areas possibly under threat from any German counter-invasion were maintained until 22 September 1944. These included the Chard area defences, which were the only ones retained in the county.

Reasons for Listing

The Second World War anti-invasion defences to the E and SE of Chard, which were erected in 1940-41 and form part of the Taunton Stop Line and the Chard anti-tank island, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historical interest: as part of a key Second World War military program of inland defence works and an important reminder of the threat of invasion in the early years of the war;
* Degree of survival: the structures retain their essential character and legibility in terms of their plan and function;
* Rarity: the bent rail block is a rare survival nationally;
* Group value: as a coherent and inter-related group, these anti-invasion features have a strong relationship with each other and in the wider context of similar structures along this significant defence line.

External Links

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