Pillbox to the east of North Weald Airfield (EHER 10136)

This is probably the largest surviving pillbox at North Weald. It is hexagonal and constructed of brick and concrete with a low doorway in its southern face. The siting has been chosen to give a wide field of fire across open farmland towards the village church.

Probably the largest surviving pillbox at North Weald. Hexagonal, 23' across x 7' high, sides massively 13'3" long with machine-gun apertures fully 9' x 2' stepping down to a normal 10" square loophole. The construction is of brick and concrete with a low doorway in its southern face. The siting has been chosen to give a wide field of fire across open farmland towards the village church. One photo of site. <1> April 2003. Site visit. There is some crumbling to the outer brickwork but probably no more than 10 years ago. All six walls have loopholes, four of them with Tunnbull mountings. Internal access is through a low crawl-in entrance beneath one of the loopholes. Inside, the pillbox is in good condition, measuring 14 ' across with a Y-shaped brick-built pillar. The walls are of concrete and the ceiling has the original corrugated iron shuttering still attached. The thickness of the walls is 5 feet. NRHE data import: A World War Two pillbox at North Weald Airfield. The pillbox is hexagonal with reinforced walls, constructed of concrete and brick. It may have been built between 1940-1941. The airfield is considered to be important partly because of the survival of its defensive landscape, of which this pillbox forms a part. The suggested construction date is between 1940-1941. <2> The installation described in <2> above fits the description of a type 22 pillbox, however this is conjectural as the Defence of Britain record does not directly state this. <3>