Record Details
| NHER Number: | 31605 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | World War Two pillbox and oval enclosure |
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Summary
An extant Second World War type 22 pillbox has been recorded from a field visit and is also visible as a structure on aerial photographs. The pillbox is hexagonal in shape and has disruptive lumps on its roof. The pillbox was built in 1940 as part of the anti-invasion defences and is in good condition. 1940s aerial photographs show that it was once surrounded by an oval enclosure, defined by a ditch or possibly barbed wire. It is unlikely any trace of the enclosure survives presently.
Images - none
Location
| Grid Reference: | TL 7939 9701 |
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| Map Sheet: | TL79NE |
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| Parish: | DIDLINGTON, BRECKLAND, NORFOLK |
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Full description
Pillbox type 22c. Hexagonal concrete with disruptive lumps on top.
A rarer variant of common type, similar to those at Thetford.
Constructed 1940. Noted 1991 by source [1].
Source [2] noted as in excellent condition in October 1995; gave grid reference at TL 7944 9679, but only saw it from the road.
E.Rose (NLA), 20 November 1995.
See record form in file by source [1], who adds:
A rare variant of a type 22c pillbox. Disruptive lumps on top.
Date 1940.
Survey No. P2-8.
D.Walker (NLA) July 1996.
November 2018. Breckland National Mapping Programme.
A Second World War Pillbox (as described above) is seen as a structure on aerial photographs (S1-S4). The pillbox is surrounded by a thin ditch or possibly barbed wire forming an enclosure around the pillbox with a large amount of possible concrete rubble within the interior of the ditched area on the 1940s aerial photographs (S2-S3). The enclosure is removed by the 1950s (S4) and the pillbox survives as a structure on recent (2017) aerial photograpths (S5). The pillbox is most likely associated with possible Second World War buildings in close proximity to the east (NHER 62617) and the military activity at Didilington Hall to the south (NHER 63067).
The mapped extent of this record has been expanded from a point to a polygon and now incorporates both the pillbox and the earthworks [1].
J.Powell (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 14 November 2018.
Monument Types
- BARBED WIRE ENTANGLEMENT? (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- DITCH (World War Two - 1939 AD? to 1945 AD?)
- FENCE? (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- MILITARY SITE (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- PILLBOX (VARIANT) (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- PILLBOX (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- SLIT TRENCH? (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
- STRUCTURE (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
Associated Finds - none
Protected Status
Sources and further reading
| --- | Recording Form: [various]. Norfolk Defensive Structures Survey Recording Form. Norfolk Defensive Structures Survey. |
| --- | Secondary File: Secondary File. |
| <S2> | Vertical Aerial Photograph: Various. Vertical Aerial Photograph. RAF/106G/UK/369 RS 4066-4067 08-JUN-1945 (HEA Original Print). |
| <S3> | Vertical Aerial Photograph: Various. Vertical Aerial Photograph. RAF/106G/UK/1634 FP 6096-6097 09-JUL-1946 (HEA Original Print). |
| <S4> | Vertical Aerial Photograph: Various. Vertical Aerial Photograph. RAF/82/1204 F21 0172-0173 02-JUN-1955 (HEA Original Print). |
| <S5> | Vertical Aerial Photograph: Various. Vertical Aerial Photograph. Next Perspectives APGB Imagery TL7996 09-04-2017 (Digital Colour). |
Related records
| 63067 | Part of: Second World War military activity at Didlington hall at High Ash training camp (Monument) |
| 62619 | Related to: Undated ditches (Monument) |
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