Pillboxes

[REF]

Thanks guys

This one is at Portreath. I have seen them scattered about all over the place though.

[mawganmad]

Generally just known as 'Sangars' . They are very similar to the internal part of a Pickett Hamilton but without top hatchway, and some water drainage pipes!

[norwichpaul]

If I may correct you Mawganmad, not all Pickett Hamiltons had a top hatch, some were entered from the side. An example is at Crail

[PETERTHEEATER]

If I may correct you Mawganmad, not all Pickett Hamiltons had a top hatch, some were entered from the side. An example is at Crail

All those I have seen had top entry hatches. Did the side entry version have a ditch to gain access to the 'door' or did it have to be pumped up and then entered? And if you couldn't pump it back up again......

[norwichpaul]

It was a cantilever fort, no pumping just a heavy weight to lift it and lower the rising head. I have an AM drawing of it and the only one I have seen was at Crail but it had been removed from its site so just the rising head. Another is at Worthy Down apparently.

[PETERTHEEATER]

Ah; a counterbalanced version. They were early and later models had the hydraulic or pneumatic raising mechanism. The counterbalance weight, even if cast iron would have been quite large so the interior was even more cramped!

[Denis]

An unusual one this, having only two embrasures. One looks down the road towards Much Hadham, the other up the road towards Sawbridgeworth and the airfield. It was on the outer limits of the airfield. A large steel road barrier was sited nearby that closed the public road across the airfield. The stantions for this still remain.
A normal pillbox design, but with less embrasures than normal.any ideas of the type number?

[PETERTHEEATER]

The Defence of Britain website has recorded it as:

A hexagonal brick and concrete pillbox. Most of the brick shuttering has fallen off. It is massively built 21 feet in diameter with a 10 foot 6 inch by 5 foot 6 inch entrance. There are only two embrasures facing NW and SE along the road. Alongside to the NW is a metal structure 7 feet high with four legs - possible the remain of a light tower?

With an entrance that large perhaps it was intended to house an anti-tank gun?

[Mike]

Embrasures look similar to those found in pillboxes designed to house the Vickers MG. Is there a concrete table behind them?

[Denis]

Embrasures look similar to those found in pillboxes designed to house the Vickers MG. Is there a concrete table behind them?

No idea Mike, the entrance and the embrasures are bricked up. Interesting to see that the Defence of Britain site has the road barrier down as a possible light tower. Local resident Mr J. Knight remembers the barrier in place to stop traffic on the Hadham road.
So we are no wiser on the type number so far then?