Second World War pillbox at Braefield Precision Engineering (EHER 48197)

A Second World War pillbox, built in concrete and brick onto the top of a factory in north-west Stansted Mountfitchet. It incorporates the central stack and comprises an upper tower with a flat concrete roof and small openings with concrete surrounds in each elevation. It is lit by a twenty-four light Crittall window. A further window opening facing east is blocked. An alternative interpretation is that it was a roof spotter post, used to detect incoming air raids and reduce time-wastage through false air-raid alarms at the factory.

The factory was built during WW2 by Ediswan to manufacture valves for radio sets, etc as a contribution to the war effort. The exact date is unknown at present. A second contemporary structure observed on 1940s maps to the south seems to have been related, but its function is unknown. The pillbox was part of the original fabric of the building and probably formed part of a secondary line of defence along the valley alongside more common concrete pill boxes. The pillbox was built in brick and concrete on the south-west corner of the factory and consisted of three levels, the topmost fitted with concrete gun loops for rifles and affording good observation on all sides. Not only was the pillbox important in its general observation role as part of the defensive network but also to protect the factory during a land-based attack. In a more specific role, it is believed to have housed an ‘aircraft spotter’ to warn the workers of air-raids. <1> NRHE data transfer: Pillbox, built onto the top of a factory. Slight alterations have taken place to the factory, but the pillbox survives intact. There are small embrasures in each side which are now glazed. Bernard Lowry suggests that this is in fact a 'factory roof spotters post'. Roof spotters were employed at some factories to warn of the approach of enemy aircraft (as opposed to air raid warnings). Too much production had been lost due to false alarms - so roof spotters were employed to warn of approach of aircraft so staff could go to shelters (often within the factory buildings). These features are found on other WWII factories and ammunition storage areas. <2> The historic Ordnance Survey Maps indicate that the site was in open countryside until a factory with a smaller footprint was constructed at some time between 1922 and 1951. The original configuration of the factory appears to have comprised single-storey office ranges to the east and south with north-lit sheds to the rear; a further two-storey block was added to the west at an unknown later date. Although its original purpose is unknown, given the proximity of a number of former airfields, it is likely that during World War II the factory manufactured items for military use. It is unclear whether the roof-top structure was integral to the original design of the factory; it is constructed with similar red brick, but it is built rather awkwardly off the stack which may suggest that it is a later addition. The structure lies atop the hipped roof of the south range. It incorporates the central stack and comprises an upper tower with a flat concrete roof and small openings with concrete surrounds in each elevation. The tower is approached by enclosed stairs beneath a partly pent roof, and lit by a twenty-four light Crittall window. A further window opening facing east is blocked. No information about the interior has been supplied. The factory has been considerably altered; the windows have been replaced and the brickwork renewed at the south-east corner and the eaves. Braefield Engineering factory is a standard mid-C20, plain and functional industrial building. The plan-form and architecture of the building do not elucidate the manufacturing processes of the complex; furthermore the building has been considerably altered. With regards to the World War II structure, its purpose is not clear, but whether it was a pill box, look-out post or had a dual function it is not a rare structure type. Many of the World War II structures were of a standard construction and design, and there is no information to hand which suggests that the Braefield Engineering structure is unique in any way. Architectural Interest: the factory is of a typical plan, functionally constructed with standard materials and is not innovative; Alteration: the factory has been significantly altered externally by the extension to the west, the replacement of windows and the renewal of brickwork; Historic Interest: The World War Two roof-top structure uses standard materials in a derivative style. It is not a rare structure as many pill boxes and look-out posts were built during World War II. <3>