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.”
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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.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chard_Canal
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.
This report focuses on the TSL defences around Solomons Hollow near Thornfalcon in Somerset. The stopline in this area is located along the course of the disused canal which includes the Lillesdon tunnel. For reasons I will explain later, I obtained permission from the Farmers before invading their land.
The two gentlemen in question, who I think were brothers, allowed me full access and were very interested in the history of their pillboxes. They had stories to tell, gleaned from their father and do actually care about the fate of the PB’s on their land. They are particularly concerned about N 83 which has been undermined progressively by badgers and erosion and is in danger of toppling off the canal tunnel spoil bank it sits on.
So if you visit, call in at Lillesdon Court Farm first, you won’t be disappointed and they really are two of the most amenable farmers I’ve ever met. My thanks to them.
According to their father, there was an American camp about a mile to the north west of this cluster who were responsible for digging the AT ditches bridging the gap between the two tunnel portals and he clearly remembered the bulldozers and other heavy plant involved. So, anyone who thinks that America wasn’t involved in WW2 until after Pearl Harbour, think again. They were helping to build our stoplines in 1940 it seems.
The area as of Nov 1940
The modern day landscape
GE map shots legend
Orange – AT ditches
Yellow – Scarping
White – AT posts
Blue – Barbed wire
Black – Railway
Light blue – Canal
Brown – AT Cubes
Anyway, on with the show and the main reason why I decided to ask first. These 3 foxes had been recently shot and dumped right where I parked up and I could hear twelve bore reports in the vicinity. Discretion being the better part of valour, I wanted them to know I was there. There were also deer in evidence, two of which shot across right in front of me as I approached one of the Vickers boxes near the farmhouse.
Tip to the unwise – know the area you are going into and don’t make sudden moves around animals, wild or domesticated. Oh and if you enter land uninvited don’t forget you might have to duck
l.
Working along the canal from south east to north west;
NV 17b – Vickers MMG - 51° 0'14.78"N, 3° 0'2.43"W
Almost impossible to photograph due to overgrowth but extant for sure.
NV 17a - Vickers MMG - 51° 0'15.78"N, 3° 0'4.13"W
In really good nick although not accessible internally at the time.
N 84a – type 24 shellproof LMG - 51° 0'17.84"N, 3° 0'11.69"W
Slightly misplaced on the DOB overlay and nice and clean. I’m getting used to seeing these shuttered externally with corrugated iron on this part of the line.
N 84 – listed as type 24 – planned location was 51° 0'18.24"N, 3° 0'12.31"W
Not apparent and not in the memory of the farmer who knew exactly where all the others were. It’s listed as built in the Schedule of completed works Nov 1940 but is curiously linked to N 84 by a pencil line drawn on the original type written schedule by one of the engineers. It’s possible it was never built, that one was built instead of two and not amended, or that it was destroyed. Either way it’s not there.
There was also a roadblock at this point, N RD 14 and AT cubes to either side but again these are not in evidence.
NV 16b - Vickers MMG - 51° 0'20.37"N, 3° 0'7.60"W
A little difficult to access but not impossible.
And as Nightcrawler once famously said ‘not much to see inside…….. apart from a few old turds’……….
NV 16a - Vickers MMG - 51° 0'22.67"N, 3° 0'8.29"W
The fourth and last Vickers of the day and also causing the farmer a few headaches with the leaning blast wall. Again, nice and clean.
N 83 - type 24 shellproof LMG - 51° 0'25.60"N, 3° 0'21.69"W
The stopline endangered species by virtue of the badgers et al and a challenging clamber in for my poor old bones and muscles.
And finally, I just thought I’d show you the Lillesdon canal tunnel north portal which, after my recent fail at Crimson hill, I expected to be H & S gated. This one wasn’t.
It had been dammed and an irrigation pump installed at the entrance but looks very much navigable. Two feet of water and possibly three to five feet of silt would make both chest waders and an inflatable boat a prerequisite. At 490 yards long it’s not as grand as Crimson Hill but looks pretty stable on first inspection. Anyone care to join me?
That’s it for now, thanks for taking the time.
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.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chard_Canal
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.
This report focuses on the TSL defences around Solomons Hollow near Thornfalcon in Somerset. The stopline in this area is located along the course of the disused canal which includes the Lillesdon tunnel. For reasons I will explain later, I obtained permission from the Farmers before invading their land.
The two gentlemen in question, who I think were brothers, allowed me full access and were very interested in the history of their pillboxes. They had stories to tell, gleaned from their father and do actually care about the fate of the PB’s on their land. They are particularly concerned about N 83 which has been undermined progressively by badgers and erosion and is in danger of toppling off the canal tunnel spoil bank it sits on.
So if you visit, call in at Lillesdon Court Farm first, you won’t be disappointed and they really are two of the most amenable farmers I’ve ever met. My thanks to them.
According to their father, there was an American camp about a mile to the north west of this cluster who were responsible for digging the AT ditches bridging the gap between the two tunnel portals and he clearly remembered the bulldozers and other heavy plant involved. So, anyone who thinks that America wasn’t involved in WW2 until after Pearl Harbour, think again. They were helping to build our stoplines in 1940 it seems.
The area as of Nov 1940
The modern day landscape
GE map shots legend
Orange – AT ditches
Yellow – Scarping
White – AT posts
Blue – Barbed wire
Black – Railway
Light blue – Canal
Brown – AT Cubes
Anyway, on with the show and the main reason why I decided to ask first. These 3 foxes had been recently shot and dumped right where I parked up and I could hear twelve bore reports in the vicinity. Discretion being the better part of valour, I wanted them to know I was there. There were also deer in evidence, two of which shot across right in front of me as I approached one of the Vickers boxes near the farmhouse.
Tip to the unwise – know the area you are going into and don’t make sudden moves around animals, wild or domesticated. Oh and if you enter land uninvited don’t forget you might have to duck
l.
Working along the canal from south east to north west;
NV 17b – Vickers MMG - 51° 0'14.78"N, 3° 0'2.43"W
Almost impossible to photograph due to overgrowth but extant for sure.
NV 17a - Vickers MMG - 51° 0'15.78"N, 3° 0'4.13"W
In really good nick although not accessible internally at the time.
N 84a – type 24 shellproof LMG - 51° 0'17.84"N, 3° 0'11.69"W
Slightly misplaced on the DOB overlay and nice and clean. I’m getting used to seeing these shuttered externally with corrugated iron on this part of the line.
N 84 – listed as type 24 – planned location was 51° 0'18.24"N, 3° 0'12.31"W
Not apparent and not in the memory of the farmer who knew exactly where all the others were. It’s listed as built in the Schedule of completed works Nov 1940 but is curiously linked to N 84 by a pencil line drawn on the original type written schedule by one of the engineers. It’s possible it was never built, that one was built instead of two and not amended, or that it was destroyed. Either way it’s not there.
There was also a roadblock at this point, N RD 14 and AT cubes to either side but again these are not in evidence.
NV 16b - Vickers MMG - 51° 0'20.37"N, 3° 0'7.60"W
A little difficult to access but not impossible.
And as Nightcrawler once famously said ‘not much to see inside…….. apart from a few old turds’……….
NV 16a - Vickers MMG - 51° 0'22.67"N, 3° 0'8.29"W
The fourth and last Vickers of the day and also causing the farmer a few headaches with the leaning blast wall. Again, nice and clean.
N 83 - type 24 shellproof LMG - 51° 0'25.60"N, 3° 0'21.69"W
The stopline endangered species by virtue of the badgers et al and a challenging clamber in for my poor old bones and muscles.
And finally, I just thought I’d show you the Lillesdon canal tunnel north portal which, after my recent fail at Crimson hill, I expected to be H & S gated. This one wasn’t.
It had been dammed and an irrigation pump installed at the entrance but looks very much navigable. Two feet of water and possibly three to five feet of silt would make both chest waders and an inflatable boat a prerequisite. At 490 yards long it’s not as grand as Crimson Hill but looks pretty stable on first inspection. Anyone care to join me?
That’s it for now, thanks for taking the time.
