Finally i decided to concentrate on an area close to work where i had concentrated on late last year. Having visited the three PB's up past Bumbles Green at Perry Hill i finally decided on the cross country approach to PB hunting (is there any other way). Undaunted by the fact that it was like a quagmire out there with the recent rain i decided to make Bumbles Green my final destination on a thankfully lazy!! stroll through thickets, crossing streams, slipping and sliding, walking boggy fields, the usual scare from the last minute flight of pheasants. (always annoying and catches me every time!). It was eventually a 9 hour trek interspersed with ciggie breaks, and ranging from too hot or too cold. I walked from Waltham Abbey through to Upshire and cut across the fields south of Copped Hall. Met the herds of deer running around and finally hit my first point of reference - the lake and copse of trees southwest of Copped Hall in Copthall Park.
Part of what reamains of the Outer London Defence Ring (area i'm concentrating on is from Loughton - Nazeing), there The Outer London Ring was the strongest and best developed of which consisted - The London Inner Keep, London Stop Line Inner (Line C), London Stop Line Central (Line B) and London Stop Line Outer (Line A)top lines these, mainly because it could be constructed in open countryside. Work on all the lines was halted weeks later by Ironside's successor, General Alan Brooke, who favoured mobile warfare above static defence.
The ring used a mixture of natural rivers and artificial ditches up to 20 feet (6 m) wide and 12 feet (4 m) deep, encircling London completely.
North of London the ring followed a path similar to the route now taken by the M25 motorway, from Watford, following the River Colne, through Potters Bar, Cuffley, Nazeing, then running south through Epping Forest, Loughton and Chigwell. Many pillboxes and anti-tank traps are still visible at points along the ring, but in the majority of places the ditch is no longer visible, covered by the M25 or London suburbs.
Further work is needed and i shall continue research and get into the Epping, Loughton area soon.
Anyhow:
PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/27) EDOBID: 9802
An FW3/27A concrete pillbox stands on the SW corner of the lake E of Copped Hall.
Below is a plan of the Type 27
EDOBID: 23843
Located by the approach road to Copped Hall and Home Farm.
Sadly the graffiti merchants were out on this one but it could have been worse.
Scorched and burnt which was evident in a few of the PB's on this visit.
The view into the gun pit.
EDOBID: 23844
In the woodland of Fitches Plantation facing E across the original anti-tank ditch of the Outer London Defence Ring. Thankfully by following the deer tracks in the woods it gave me the relatively easy option of tracking between the PB's.
At last the sun comes out!
EPPING UPLAND, EPPING FOREST, ESSEX
EDOBID: 23845
West of Pond Field Plantation. Standing in a bend to the E of a stream which acted as an anti-tank ditch is a Type FW3/27, brick and concrete, octagonal pillbox. To the north of this PB there is a concrete road which leads up to the to other PB's which are to the left of the road (heading North) and are part of a nice cluster of PB's to the South of Cobbin's Brook.
Relatively unscathed internals. The cladding is surprisingly almost intact and would have taken the edge off the concrete for the troops inside.
Scrawled on the inner roof to the porch are three names all dated 04/50.
Out onto dry land and showing the concrete access track to the run of pillboxes. Placed in initially for the benefit of the defence of Britain, these perimeter tracks are of massive benefit to the farmers once the land was handed back to them after the war. More so when the airbases were reclaimed.
EDOBID: 23846
Somewhere in the copse there is a PB.
A Type FW3/27 octagonal pillbox overlooking the anti-tank ditch 80 yards to the E. Like all the pillboxes from Parvills Farm southwards this one is brick clad. Wood was originally used for shuttering but when this became scarce flettons were used and then left in position. This pillbox has been buried up to the gun ports presenting a low target to an attacker.
EDOBID: 23847
An unusual feature of this pillbox is the large ""hump"" of concrete which has been added to the N corner. Inside, the fibreboard lining is badly burnt and there is a step halfway round the interior.
EDOBID: 23848
Pillbox on NE corner of Spratt's Hedgerow Wood and sat on the north bank of Cobbin's Brook.
Part of an AT roadblock???
EDOBID: 23849
Almost completely hidden in blackthorn bushes at the NE corner of Gills Plantation is a Type FW3/27, brick and concrete octagonal pillbox. Although the siting naturally follows the anti-tank ditch/gulley the pillbox would have been totally dominated by a steep hill immediately to the E.
The slip and slide into the gulley. The fun was getting back up gain. As you can see the clay based soil is being eroded away and exposing the base foundation.
EDOBID: 9803
Facing NE towards Ballhill Wood 100 yards away. As with all Type 27's the entrance forms something of a ""porch"" and the roof of this has been partly demolished. Originally, this pillbox stood on the edge of the Outer London Defence Ring anti-tank ditch which crossed the field almost directly from Parvills Farm gateway and then continued SE via the field boundary to the NE corner of Gills Plantation.
View facing the anti tank ditch in the line of the trees.
EDOBID: 9804
Pillbox SE of Harold's Park Farm
Continuing the journey i missed out the sites of two removed Pb's. One originally sited at the entrance to Parvills Farm and another which was sited to the North of the farm.
EDOBID: 23850
The line of the Outer London Defence Ring runs eastwards from King Harold's Head public house and then turns south to the high ground of Harold's Park Farm. On top of the hill, almost hidden in thicket is a Type FW3/27 concrete pillbox which originally stood on the edge of the anti-tank ditch - now shown on maps as a drainage channel. From here, the views to the N across Nazeingwood Common are extensive and the pillbox would have had an almost unlimited field of fire.
Right at the very end of the run. Over the Crooked Mile and into the allotments ion the right hand side. This whole line of Pillboxes detailed are part of the connecting line out to Perry Hill and on through to Cuffley and beyond. Finally hopping over the gate to the allotments at Bumbles Green.
Part of what reamains of the Outer London Defence Ring (area i'm concentrating on is from Loughton - Nazeing), there The Outer London Ring was the strongest and best developed of which consisted - The London Inner Keep, London Stop Line Inner (Line C), London Stop Line Central (Line B) and London Stop Line Outer (Line A)top lines these, mainly because it could be constructed in open countryside. Work on all the lines was halted weeks later by Ironside's successor, General Alan Brooke, who favoured mobile warfare above static defence.
The ring used a mixture of natural rivers and artificial ditches up to 20 feet (6 m) wide and 12 feet (4 m) deep, encircling London completely.
North of London the ring followed a path similar to the route now taken by the M25 motorway, from Watford, following the River Colne, through Potters Bar, Cuffley, Nazeing, then running south through Epping Forest, Loughton and Chigwell. Many pillboxes and anti-tank traps are still visible at points along the ring, but in the majority of places the ditch is no longer visible, covered by the M25 or London suburbs.
Further work is needed and i shall continue research and get into the Epping, Loughton area soon.
Anyhow:
PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/27) EDOBID: 9802
An FW3/27A concrete pillbox stands on the SW corner of the lake E of Copped Hall.
The type 27 is one of the largest of the FW3 designs, it is octagonal in plan with walls between 9 ft 9 in and 11 ft 6 in (3.0–3.5 m). The outer walls being 36 inches (91 cm) thick and have embrasures suitable for rifles or light machine guns on each facet. It has a central well open to the sky that could be used as a light anti-aircraft position.
Type 27 is uncommon, 84 are recorded as extant.
Below is a plan of the Type 27
Still with internal cladding.
Gun Pit.
EDOBID: 23843
Located by the approach road to Copped Hall and Home Farm.
Sadly the graffiti merchants were out on this one but it could have been worse.
Note the rough attempt to break up the roof surface with concrete.
Bent rails. Which would have formed part of a roadblock and AT obstacle.
Scorched and burnt which was evident in a few of the PB's on this visit.
Note the wooden batons set into the concrete to allow for the fixing of the cladding.
The view into the gun pit.
The crawl space to gain entry into the gun pit.
Part of the fixing mount for a LAA gun.
EDOBID: 23844
In the woodland of Fitches Plantation facing E across the original anti-tank ditch of the Outer London Defence Ring. Thankfully by following the deer tracks in the woods it gave me the relatively easy option of tracking between the PB's.
View of the rather exposed infantry position in the porch. The infantry would have fallen back to the pillbox as a last ditch attempt to defend the area having set out patrols and perimeter defences in the vicinity.
Again a burnt interior and very crumbly and loose concrete exposing the reinforcement within the structure.
The hand and foot rails leading up into the LAA pit.
EPPING UPLAND, EPPING FOREST, ESSEX
EDOBID: 23845
West of Pond Field Plantation. Standing in a bend to the E of a stream which acted as an anti-tank ditch is a Type FW3/27, brick and concrete, octagonal pillbox. To the north of this PB there is a concrete road which leads up to the to other PB's which are to the left of the road (heading North) and are part of a nice cluster of PB's to the South of Cobbin's Brook.
Now over the passage of time, nature is taking its time in slowly reclaiming back the pillboxes. The interior of this pillbox was dank in places due to its location next to a small brook, and not being in direct sunlight.
Out onto dry land and showing the concrete access track to the run of pillboxes. Placed in initially for the benefit of the defence of Britain, these perimeter tracks are of massive benefit to the farmers once the land was handed back to them after the war. More so when the airbases were reclaimed.
Somewhere in the copse there is a PB.
A Type FW3/27 octagonal pillbox overlooking the anti-tank ditch 80 yards to the E. Like all the pillboxes from Parvills Farm southwards this one is brick clad. Wood was originally used for shuttering but when this became scarce flettons were used and then left in position. This pillbox has been buried up to the gun ports presenting a low target to an attacker.
Hidden in the small copse of trees in the pillbox. It is undedrstandable why hunting for the pillboxes can be a real challenge.
EDOBID: 23847
An unusual feature of this pillbox is the large ""hump"" of concrete which has been added to the N corner. Inside, the fibreboard lining is badly burnt and there is a step halfway round the interior.
EDOBID: 23848
Pillbox on NE corner of Spratt's Hedgerow Wood and sat on the north bank of Cobbin's Brook.
EDOBID: 23849
Almost completely hidden in blackthorn bushes at the NE corner of Gills Plantation is a Type FW3/27, brick and concrete octagonal pillbox. Although the siting naturally follows the anti-tank ditch/gulley the pillbox would have been totally dominated by a steep hill immediately to the E.
The slip and slide into the gulley. The fun was getting back up gain. As you can see the clay based soil is being eroded away and exposing the base foundation.
EDOBID: 9803
Facing NE towards Ballhill Wood 100 yards away. As with all Type 27's the entrance forms something of a ""porch"" and the roof of this has been partly demolished. Originally, this pillbox stood on the edge of the Outer London Defence Ring anti-tank ditch which crossed the field almost directly from Parvills Farm gateway and then continued SE via the field boundary to the NE corner of Gills Plantation.
EDOBID: 9804
Pillbox SE of Harold's Park Farm
Continuing the journey i missed out the sites of two removed Pb's. One originally sited at the entrance to Parvills Farm and another which was sited to the North of the farm.
The line of the Outer London Defence Ring runs eastwards from King Harold's Head public house and then turns south to the high ground of Harold's Park Farm. On top of the hill, almost hidden in thicket is a Type FW3/27 concrete pillbox which originally stood on the edge of the anti-tank ditch - now shown on maps as a drainage channel. From here, the views to the N across Nazeingwood Common are extensive and the pillbox would have had an almost unlimited field of fire.
The flooded interior.
The overgrown LAA pit.
Right at the very end of the run. Over the Crooked Mile and into the allotments ion the right hand side. This whole line of Pillboxes detailed are part of the connecting line out to Perry Hill and on through to Cuffley and beyond. Finally hopping over the gate to the allotments at Bumbles Green.
Thanks for reading the report.
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