Monument record MWX1337 - World War Two Type 26 pillbox on Chesil Beach by Castle Hill Cottages, Abbotsbury

A World War II type 26 pillbox on Chesil Beach, adjacent to Castle Hill Cottages on the Burton road, with it's field of fire to the east, west and out to sea. The pillbox is square on plan and built of reinforced concrete and wood-shuttered. The upper surface is pebble-dashed for camouflage. The pillbox was constructed in 1940 and was situated within the Abbotsbury Defence area, which at this time, was manned by the 6th Battalion Durham Light Infantry. A field visit in 2000 found the pillbox three-quarters buried under shingle.

Square type 26 pillbox. Partly buried in beach. [Shown on OS 1:2500 sheet SY 5584 (1963)].Type 26 (variant) pillbox (no rear embrasure) situated on beach, with field of fire E/W and out to sea. Wood-shuttered. Upper surface of pillbox pebble-dashed for camouflage. The pillbox is three-quarters buried under shingle. With PLAN drawn on form.Square pillbox, half pebble-dashed (camouflage). It is four-fifths buried in shingle. Sides 10ft square.

25ft away stands a concrete block 5ft x 5ft x 4ft (high) with a manhole cover on top. There is a similar piece of a concrete structure 15ft away, the gap in which matches the dimensions of the block.Chesil Beach, adjacent to Castle Hill Cottages on the Burton road. <1-3>

A field visit in 2000 found the pillbox three-quarters buried under shingle. The site is visible as an extant structure on aerial photographs <4> and was digitally plotted during the South Dorset Ridgeway Mapping Project.

<1> Council for British Archaeology, 1995, Defence of Britain Project, S0003121 (Digital archive). SWX5.

<2> Council for British Archaeology, 2003, Defence of Britain Project Database, S0003121 (Machine readable data file). SDO128.

<3> Council for British Archaeology, 2006, Defence of Britain Project Archive DEB01, S0003121 (Excavation archive). SDO17227.

<4> Royal Air Force, 22-JAN-1948, RAF/CPE/UK/2431 4285-6 (Aerial Photograph). SDO12188.

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1419115 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Sep 6 2024 4:36PM