Taunton Stopline & Chard Canal - Aug 2011

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Munchh

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The arsehole of the Cosmos
History and info

Taunton Stopline

“A World War 2 anti-invasion stop line, facing west, built between July and November 1940. The stop line runs for approximately 50 miles from the mouth of River Brue to the mouth of the River Axe in Devon (with some infrastructure in Dorset). Some rear positions were prepared to the E of line. It connected to the ‘GHQ Line Green’ running East along River Brue.

The line followed the River Parrett to Bridgwater where it joined the Bridgwater to Taunton Canal. From Creech St Michael it followed the old Chard Canal until SW of Ilton where it joined the Great Western Railway. The line left the GWR to the north of Chard Junction from where it followed the Southern Railway and River Axe running south into Devon.

The planned infrastructure (most of which was built) included 233 pillboxes, 61 medium machine gun emplacements, 21 anti-tank gun emplacements, 83 road blocks, 22 railway blocks and 46 demolitions.

The anti-tank obstacle consisted of about 24 miles of waterways, 7 miles of improved water obstacles, 11 miles of anti-tank ditches and 8 miles of artificial obstacles (eg cubes).

From autumn 1940, twelve locations were prepared for all-round defence as ‘anti-tank islands’ of which 9 were in Somerset - Bridgwater, Durston, Creech St Michael, Wrantage and Crimson Hill, Ilton, Ilminster, Chard, Forton and Perry Street.”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Chard Canal

From Wikipedia;

“The Chard Canal was a 13.5 miles (21.7 km) tub boat canal in Somerset, England, that ran from the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal at Creech St. Michael, over four aqueducts, through three tunnels and four inclined planes to Chard. It was completed in 1842, was never commercially viable, and closed in 1868. The major engineering features are still clearly visible in the landscape.” [ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chard_Canal[/ame]


My thanks and acknowledgment once again to Krela for providing the photos of the original construction plans and other 1940/1941 documentation included in this report.



I went on a trip with a mate to see some sections of the route of the Chard canal. It was a compromise between his interests and mine and we both ended up getting a lot out of the day.

Usually when I visit a section of the stopline I prepare in advance and know what’s there (or meant to be) and roughly where to find it. On this occasion however my mate Dave was on point leading us to two ‘fail’ sites which to be honest we were expecting to be ‘closed’ anyway.

As a consequence we ended up at a place which Dave said had a few PB’s and canal remains which were worth a look. It was a strange but pleasant experience finding my way around in a place I hadn’t researched in advance. I was pleased with just how many interesting finds there were in this half mile stretch, with the added bonus of the unexpected.

This is an area between Ruishton and Creech St Michael, where the disused/ dismantled remains of two transport infrastructures merge briefly. How it must have bustled in its day. Both cross the River Tone south of Creech. The railway is a shallow curve in plan as it heads north to join the main line and is struck at a tangent by the canal running straight. This is quiet countryside uninhabited in the most part and a peaceful place to nose around in for a few hours.

Anyway, after some retrospective research, here are the pics.

The area as of Nov 1940

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The modern day landscape

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GE map shots legend

Orange – AT ditches
Yellow – Scarping
White – AT posts
Blue – Barbed wire
Black – Railway
Light blue - Canal



Canal at Ruishton

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The aqueduct is brittle to say the least

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The Canal bed looking towards the aqueduct

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AT Walls in arches

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T RL B 8 – Rail block - 51° 1'18.65"N, 3° 2'34.39"W

No remains of the block but the railway viaduct is hanging in there

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T 35 - S0000404 - Type 24 - 51° 1'14.41"N, 3° 2'28.40"W

Two large embrasures with the metal hinged flap one facing each way up the track bed

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N RL 29 – Rail block - 51° 1'12.88"N, 3° 2'27.73"W - no remains visible

N RD 10 - Road block - 51° 1'12.06"N, 3° 2'24.35"W

Just the solitary AT cube left here to the right of the mostly dismantled Canal bridge

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N 75 - Special design - 51° 1'11.52"N, 3° 2'24.53"W

The prize of the day and tucked away beneath the bridge. Entered through a short tunnel beneath the bridge opening out into the pillbox section on the opposite bank. From the outside it’s merged with the bridge for disguise. Bit of a treat this.

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T 34 - Type 24 - 51° 1'11.42"N, 3° 2'24.01"W

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N 76 - Type 24 - S0000423 - 51° 1'7.76"N, 3° 2'23.58"W

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N RL 30 - Rail block - 51° 1'6.76"N, 3° 2'23.52"W

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Railway related building I believe, but right on the site of the block

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Canal block - 51° 1'1.35"N, 3° 2'19.03"W

This looks to me like an existing passage below the canal was restricted by this block. What do you think? There was substantial masonry to either side which would have been the support for the canal overpass

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Jonty’s (not his real name) home

As you can see he’s well prepared down here and quite comfortable. After he’d brewed up I spoke with him for about an hour and whilst he was quite happy for me to photograph his stopline residence, he declined to be pictured himself. The police know he’s here and visit occasionally to check that he and his two companions are okay. They aren’t noticeably impacting the site and appear very in tune with their environment.

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This was the second highlight of our day. A mug of tea and a chat in the woods in the middle of nowhere before heading home. Handsome.

An almost impromptu stopline explore that turned into a really enjoyable day.

That’s all for now. Thanks for looking in. :)
 
Last edited:
I'm glad to see my ivy clearance on the special one is still in effect. It's not grown back too badly. ;)
 
Yeah, shame about the front entrance embrasure though. I see now what you meant by "Creech St Michael has the best WW2 stuff ever......" :)
 
Yeah, shame about the front entrance embrasure though. I see now what you meant by "Creech St Michael has the best WW2 stuff ever......" :)

Great stuff isn't it? :)

Incidentally I don't think the special area built under the bridge is N75, that's the T24 above it on the top of the embankment. I believe it's a defended position built independently to the stopline, possibly by local home guard.

Either way there is only one marked on the plans and 2 positions on the ground.
 
I see now what you meant by "Creech St Michael has the best WW2 stuff ever......" :)

When I was a nipper, me and my mates used to play in these pill boxes along the rail line by the canal and Creech paper mill. I also used to cycle under the aquaduct every thursday night on my way to scouts which was in Ruishton. I never really knew their use and significance until now.
Great post and great pictures!! :mrgreen:
 
Great stuff isn't it? :)

Incidentally I don't think the special area built under the bridge is N75, that's the T24 above it on the top of the embankment. I believe it's a defended position built independently to the stopline, possibly by local home guard.

Either way there is only one marked on the plans and 2 positions on the ground.

Interesting. The evidence in the original files strongly suggests it's N 75, particularly the completed works schedule which describes it's location. There are two marks on the plans, N 75 and T 34 (a later build).

What leads you to believe it isn't N 75 krela? This part of the line is completely new to me.
 
When I was a nipper, me and my mates used to play in these pill boxes along the rail line by the canal and Creech paper mill. I also used to cycle under the aquaduct every thursday night on my way to scouts which was in Ruishton. I never really knew their use and significance until now.
Great post and great pictures!! :mrgreen:

Thanks bilbo, glad to have added to your knowledge. :)

great find and full respect to jonty for living in the woods id love that

Yeah, I've got no problem with him being there. Thanks for that.

Brilliant report as ever Munchh well done my man. :)

Cheers mate. :)
 
Another cracking report confiming the existence of a bunch of unknowns and finding a new one. I tend to find you see more stuff on unplanned visits as you are looking around more. With planned trips you tend to move directly from one site to the next without keeping your eyes peeled.
 
Interesting. The evidence in the original files strongly suggests it's N 75, particularly the completed works schedule which describes it's location. There are two marks on the plans, N 75 and T 34 (a later build).

What leads you to believe it isn't N 75 krela? This part of the line is completely new to me.

Aah yes I knew there was something wrong with the plans in that area but you're right, that's not it.

The special is N75, but T34 is in a different place to where it is on the map. That may be because they changed their mind when building it, or it could simply be because there wasn't enough space on the plan to draw it in it's correct place. It's only a bit out, the plans have it on the inside of the embankment and between N75 and N76, and from my memory (I haven't been there since 2007 mind), it's on top of the embankment right over towards N75.
 
Aah yes I knew there was something wrong with the plans in that area but you're right, that's not it.

The special is N75, but T34 is in a different place to where it is on the map. That may be because they changed their mind when building it, or it could simply be because there wasn't enough space on the plan to draw it in it's correct place. It's only a bit out, the plans have it on the inside of the embankment and between N75 and N76, and from my memory (I haven't been there since 2007 mind), it's on top of the embankment right over towards N75.

I'm certainly finding anomalies on the plans but cross checking with the other documentation mostly solves the issues. Funnily enough N 75 is shown with an arrow to its position on the ATI map exactly because of the lack of space. The arrow also points to the opposite abutment of the bridge. The 6 figure WOFO grid ref puts it almost in the road.

There's nothing wrong with your memory. I have the entrance to the N 75 tunnel approx 30 feet from the road. Standing facing the entrance, T 34 is up and to the left at about 10 O'clock and approx 20 feet away. Almost right on top of N 75 as you say. The tunnel itself is no more than 35 feet including the pillbox section I'd say. :)

Another cracking report confiming the existence of a bunch of unknowns and finding a new one. I tend to find you see more stuff on unplanned visits as you are looking around more. With planned trips you tend to move directly from one site to the next without keeping your eyes peeled.

Yeah I was definitely nosing around a lot more than on a planned visit capn much to my mates delight :lol: He was after the canal tunnels and originally described N 75 to me as "We'll go to Creech, there's a sort of dungeon type place in the bridge" bless him.

N RL 30 (S0000422) N 76 (S0000423) and the possible canal block are GPS fixed which I always do now when their exact location on GE is not obvious. So those coords are reliable. N RL 29 is approx based on the original plans as there are no visible remains. The AT walls are in the bridge arches large enough for AVs to pass through. These are not indicated on the plans but are exactly the ones they would have blocked to complete the line. One of them is only wide enough to accomodate a jeep sized vehicle. The concrete is a good 6 feet thick. :)
 
mate another fantastic report there are certainly some cracking remains down there
 
mate another fantastic report there are certainly some cracking remains down there

Ah cheers jon, got the hankering to shuffle yer ass down here yet mate? :mrgreen:

I'm certainly considering coming over and squatting on your patch from what I've seen. I think NC's beloved Oxfordshire could be well worth an invasion too. :)
 
Ah cheers jon, got the hankering to shuffle yer ass down here yet mate? :mrgreen:

I'm certainly considering coming over and squatting on your patch from what I've seen. I think NC's beloved Oxfordshire could be well worth an invasion too. :)

Too right am I theres far too many goodies down there to keep to yourselves am sure you could share some with good old jonney. If you do venture up this way I've still got shed loads of stuff to document and I'd always be up for revisiting some if you need a guide
 
i lived in creech for the first 10 years of my life, i was always up there looking around and never found half of that stuff , (although i think in about 1995 one of the pillboxes had a wasp nest in it and it kind of put me off going there any more !) thanks for the pics , i may have to pay the plalce a visit soon
 
Taunton StopLine

Hhave you seen Bob Osborn's e-book on the Stop Line? excellent piece of research with maps, photos etc etc. Available from Pillbox Study Group forum.
 
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