# Filling in the gaps - Copped Hall - Bumbles Green.



## sennelager66 (May 9, 2012)

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. 
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*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.
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*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.
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*Relatively unscathed.*











Scrawled on the inner roof to the porch are three names all dated 04/50.











*Out onto dry land after dodging the farmer tending the field.
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*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. 
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*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.
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*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. 
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*The flooded interior.*






*Finally hopping over the gate to the allotments at Bumbles Green. *


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## flyboys90 (May 9, 2012)

What a cracking set of PB,s looks like you had a great day touring that lot and it pretty good nick too,but tell me how does one set fire to a PB.


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## RichCooper (May 9, 2012)

Excellent report mate  youve certainly been busy


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## outkast (May 9, 2012)

Nice one mate, if you are carrying on in the direction I think you are, the next part of the line is another type 27, look in the undergrowth near it there is a couple of AT blocks not on the DOB database, have fun


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## jonney (May 9, 2012)

Great stuff there sennelager I'd love to find a type27 but the nearest one to me is across the border in Scotland. Keep up the good work


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## Winch It In (May 9, 2012)

Fabulous set of pic's, well worth the leg work.


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## oldscrote (May 10, 2012)

An epic of it's kind,great stuff thanks.


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## sennelager66 (May 10, 2012)

outkast said:


> Nice one mate, if you are carrying on in the direction I think you are, the next part of the line is another type 27, look in the undergrowth near it there is a couple of AT blocks not on the DOB database, have fun



Are these the three PB's at Perry Hill. If not spill the beans...... I shall be heading out towards Loughton / Epping Forest to photograph the sites of the removed 27's and the continuation of the AT ditch in the woods. 
Then continue further down and across.


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## stop line (May 10, 2012)

Excellent post - I've also yet to see a type 27. Annoying as yrs ago used to live not too far away from here but guess being younger in those days had other things on my mind besides pillboxes!!


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## sennelager66 (May 10, 2012)

Thanks. The same for me when in Germany! I missed out on so much. I'm off to Krakow in July for a Stag do. Days are mine and nights for the stag. Planning my excursions out already.
I hit the removed PB sites today and the AT ditch. Knackered again.


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## night crawler (May 10, 2012)

Dam fine work there, puts my lase effort to shame. What is it with the scanks who set fire to the PB's, they last 70 odd years then some idiot thinks it s good idea to fire them.


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## the_historian (May 11, 2012)

Nice pics. 
Just to be different to the rest, I've yet to see a type 28!


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## Skoyen89 (May 11, 2012)

Really good bit of hunting and recording pillboxes not often visited. Esecially like the roadblock V shaped irons near one of them.  Have you seen this site which mentions some of the pillboxes in the area?

http://edithsstreets.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/cobbins-brook-orange-wood.html


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## outkast (May 11, 2012)

sennelager66 said:


> Are these the three PB's at Perry Hill. If not spill the beans...... I shall be heading out towards Loughton / Epping Forest to photograph the sites of the removed 27's and the continuation of the AT ditch in the woods.
> Then continue further down and across.



Yes it in the undergrowth next the the pillbox on the corner, where the track splits in two, if you go the the AT hairpin in paynes lane, next to it is a footpath wich heads towards the next PB on the DOB overlay, if you walk up that footpath it takes you over a bridge about half way, on the right is a pylon, close to that are three AT blocks too.


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## sennelager66 (May 11, 2012)

Cheers for that Outkast. I shall get up there for a look. Many thanks again.


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## sennelager66 (May 11, 2012)

Just a few more gaps to fill in. I took a days rest after the last trek and decided to go out yesterday at 2PM as the heavens opened. Probably the wrong move but i made the decision to carry on. Realistically i could only get to two sites where the PB's had been removed. One site in Grosvenor Drive, Debden Green would have been in the rear gardens and was as such impossible. The first removed PB was in Pyrles Green in Upper Loughton. The original concrete approach was still there in the cul de sac and according to the EDOBID the PB was sited in the far row of houses to the right hand side. 











ANTI TANK VERTICAL RAIL: S0014046 - i looked but couldn't find them and to be honest i always feel uneasy peering around in the front of someones garden. A cursory look around, a double back and then i decided to move on without attracting too much attention to myself. Thankfully to the side of the property on Debden Lane there is a cut through marked Private Property so being me, i decided to ignore this and head out on the woodline towards the site of the removed PB on Debden Green Caravan Site. I cut through at the last minute and got in a few photos before attracting attention from a 4x4.

*EDOBID: 18144
Thankfully the very distinctive shape led me to it though the toilets were something to be desired.
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The North East approach to the PB at the Caravan Site. Signs of the AT ditch.....






Cutting over Jacks Hill on the B172........

*ANTI TANK DITCH: S0012872
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## outkast (May 11, 2012)

outkast said:


> Yes it in the undergrowth next the the pillbox on the corner, where the track splits in two, if you go the the AT hairpin in paynes lane, next to it is a footpath wich heads towards the next PB on the DOB overlay, if you walk up that footpath it takes you over a bridge about half way, on the right is a pylon, close to that are three AT blocks too.



oh and another thing I remember, when you get to the next PB on from paynes lane, the DOB database says there are two AT blocks next to it, they are still there but amongst the undergrowth are two AT hairpins as well, one is still upright but the other has fallen over, and its a type 27 again and not what the Dob says it is.

Have fun


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