Monument record MWX1342 - World War Two pillbox at Herbury, East Fleet, Langton Herring

A World War II pillbox, situated at the water's edge on mud and shingle at Herbury, East Fleet. The pillbox was constructed in 1940-41 and was built of reinforced concrete and brick. A field visit in 1996 found the pillbox had been destroyed. Visible as an extant structure on aerial photographs taken in 1942.

Pillbox DEMOLISHED. Remains lie at the water's edge on mud and shingle. It is thought that these are the remains of the rectangular structure built on higher ground and shown on OS map. The purpose of the structure is uncertain, but sections of brickwork (19ins thick) and concrete (16ins thick) remain on site: these are likely to be remains of a pillbox. <1-3>

The structure is visible as an extant feature on aerial photographs taken in 1942 <4>, it's square shape and size (c. 4m across) is indicative of it being a Type 26 pillbox. The site was digitally plotted during the South Dorset Ridgeway Mapping Project.

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

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

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

<4> Royal Air Force, 27-APR-1942, RAF RAF/AC36 V 55-6 (Aerial Photograph). SDO12098.

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1419098 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Sep 6 2024 4:36PM