Record Details

NHER Number:32560
Type of record:Monument
Name:World War Two pillbox and gun emplacement south of Happisburgh Road

Summary

A rectangular World War Two pillbox and heavy machine gun emplacement survives as an extant structure to the south of Happisburgh Road. It is one of several defensive structures identified in the area; another World War Two pillbox, NHER 16789, lies approximately 335m to the northeast, while nearby there are also two further pillboxes dating to World War One. All of these structures are visible on aerial photographs taken from 1946 onwards. They would have protected the river crossing at Ebridge Mill to the east, and formed part of the line of defences established along the River Ant during both World Wars.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TG 3082 2939
Map Sheet:TG32NW
Parish:NORTH WALSHAM, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

Rare, type 20v heavy machine gun emplacement, facing north-east. Unusually filled with turnball mounting frames.
Survey No. H2-3.
Information from [1]. See record form (S1) in file.
D.Walker (NLA), July 1996.

September 2006. Norfolk NMP.
The World War Two heavy machine gun emplacement/pillbox described above is visible as an extant structure on aerial photographs (S2)-(S4), at TG 3082 2938. The rectangular building is described in (S1) as a Type 20 variant, and in the Defence of Britain database (S5) and the record for NMR TG 32 NW 53 as a Vickers Machine Gun Emplacement. It has a blast wall or traverse protecting the entrance on its southwest side. The structure is one of two World War Two pillboxes identified in the immediate area; the second, NHER 16789, lies approximately 335m to the northeast. Both may have been associated with the military camp (NHER 38819) that lay on the east side of the North Walsham and Dilham Canal. They formed part of the line of defences that was erected along the River Ant stop line, as described in Kent (1988) (S6). (The river had also been used as a defensive line during World War One, and two circular pillboxes are visible nearby: NHER 16447 and 16788). The emplacement described here was almost certainly sited to defend the river crossing at Ebridge Mill 450m to the northeast.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 20 September 2006.

Monument Types

  • BLAST WALL (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
  • GUN EMPLACEMENT (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
  • MACHINE GUN EMPLACEMENT (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
  • PILLBOX (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)
  • VICKERS MACHINE GUN EMPLACEMENT (World War Two - 1939 AD to 1945 AD)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status - none

Sources and further reading

---Photograph: Kent, P.. 1994. KHD 29.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
<S1>Unpublished Document: Kent, P.. 1994. Norfolk Defensive Structures Survey record form.
<S2>Vertical Aerial Photograph: RAF. 1946. RAF 106G/UK/1634 1079-80 09-JUL-1946 (NMR).
<S3>Vertical Aerial Photograph: Ordnance Survey. 1972. OS/72111 128-9 02-MAY-1972.
<S4>Vertical Aerial Photograph: BKS. 1988. BKS 2038-9 29-AUG-1988 (NCC 4261-2).
<S5>Website: Council for British Archaeology. 2002. Defence of Britain database. http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/specColl/dob/index.cfm.
<S6>Publication: Kent, P. 1988. Fortifications of East Anglia. p 190.

Related records

16789Related to: World War Two Type 22 pillbox west of Ebridge Mill (Monument)

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