Guard pillboxes for ROF Aycliffe Munitions store

Derelict Places

Help Support Derelict Places:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

jonney

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Messages
1,619
Reaction score
882
Location
Durham
A very brief history of the area (more in depth can be found here http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/aycliffeangels/)

ROF Aycliffe, (Royal Ordnance Factory, Aycliffe) was built on an 867-acre (3.51 km2) site off Heighington Lane, Aycliffe, County Durham, England during the early 1940s. The marshy location was ideal as the site was shrouded in fog and mist for much of the year providing cover against bombing by the Luftwaffe.

It opened as ROF 59 (Filling factory 8) in the Spring of 1941. It operated 24 hours a day, employing some 17,000 workers in three shift groups and was operational for just over 4 years until the end of World War II in 1945, by which point it had produced some 700 million bullets and countless other munitions. The factory was designated as a 'Top Secret' installation and surrounded by high fences with barbed wire.

The workers were mainly women and became known as the "Aycliffe Angels". During its existence, the factory produced millions of finished munitions including bullets, shells and mines.

Workers were transported from surrounding areas onto the factory site by bus and train, with the most local workers arriving on foot or by bicycle.

The factory was visited during the war years by Winston Churchill and members of the British Royal Family. Many well known entertainers of the day also performed at the factory for the workers.
[edit] Post war

After the war, the factory closed and the site was turned into the Newton Aycliffe Industrial Estate in the late 1940s. Many of the original buildings are still standing today although most have been changed beyond all recognition

1945

Aycliffe3.png


Modern day

Aycliffe4.png


you can still see some of the old buildings although some have been re-faced

DSCF7046.jpg


DSCF7045.jpg


DSCF7044.jpg


Right that's enough of that on to the good stuff (well...) I saw a photo of these pillboxes recently and have been looking for them ever since as they are not on the DoB. Eventually I messaged the guy who originally photographed them and asked for their location (cheeky I know but what the hell) and he told me where they were to which I am very very grateful. I must stress that although there is a footpath so far down to the site the pillboxes are on private land and the munitions stores are now in private use and there is 24 hour security and CCTV covering them, plus there are some nasty looking guard dogs on site. I got permission from the farmer who owns the land to photograph these although I was asked not to take any of the stores. There are 4 of these non standard type pillboxes but I found 2 large piles of rubble that could easily have been another 2 plus looking at the old photos one of the blocks of 4 stores has long gone

1945

aycliffe2.png


modern day (white circles mark the pillboxes)

aycliffe.png


alll these pillboxes are built the same, approx 9 foot x 9 foot and internally the roof height is about 8 foot

The first one is the guard post for the main gates

DSCF6994.jpg


DSCF6999.jpg


DSCF7001.jpg


internals (again all 4 were the same so I'll only post one set)

note the wooden gun rack in the corner

DSCF7002.jpg


DSCF7004.jpg


DSCF7003.jpg


roof detail

DSCF7005.jpg


The main gates

DSCF6995.jpg


DSCF6996.jpg


Pillbox 2

DSCF7006.jpg


DSCF7007.jpg


original fence posts

DSCF7008.jpg


pillbox 3

DSCF7016.jpg


if you zoom in on this photo you can see one of the remaining banks of 4 munitions stores

DSCF7018.jpg


pillbox 4

DSCF7031.jpg


DSCF7027.jpg


possible pillbox demolition rubble and main fence

DSCF7037.jpg


well that's all from here
thanks for looking

Cheers Jon
 
Cheers NC once I'd seen them I couldn't help myself. I spent ages going over the maps of the area and trawling GE and thought I knew where they were so yesterday evening was spent walking miles and miles but to no avail. So when I got directions to them I couldn't help myself...school night pillbox porn was the order of the evening
 
Amazing stuff Jon,never seen anything like that before are they unique?

this website seems to have a lot of info and photos about the place

http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/aycliffeangels/index.phtml


that's the website at the beginning of the report mate, I'm not sure if they are unique mate but like you I've never seen anything like them before. My grandmother on my
Mams side was an Aycliffe Angel but sadly she passed away before I came along
 
that's the website at the beginning of the report mate, I'm not sure if they are unique mate but like you I've never seen anything like them before. My grandmother on my
Mams side was an Aycliffe Angel but sadly she passed away before I came along

Oh bu#~er I really must read the blurb before going straight to the pictures.Amazing that your Granny worked there,the things people did to help the war effort never cease to amaze me.
 
Something is bugging me about this place. I know that the munitions made here were transported via train to Salters gate munitions store and by truck to Brasside munitions store to be distributed from there and they have no defences to speak of. Why would such a small place have so many defences and why would they need a store there in the first place. I'm wondering if they were storing more unconventional munitions here or am I just being daft
 
Cheers NC once I'd seen them I couldn't help myself. I spent ages going over the maps of the area and trawling GE and thought I knew where they were so yesterday evening was spent walking miles and miles but to no avail. So when I got directions to them I couldn't help myself...school night pillbox porn was the order of the evening

Think you need to borrow my Garmin GPS ;)
 
Excellent job tracking these down Jonney. They are a standard type for ROF sites around the country, small and square with a long narrow embrasure, although they do vary from site to site a bit.
 
Excellent report jon. :)

The PB's don't look like they could take much more than small arms fire.

Certainly comes across as a 'what were they up to here?' sort of place. We were stockpiling quantities of 'unconventional' weapons in a response to the perceived threat of their use by the axis powers.

It would obviously be interesting to get a closer look at the stores.
 
Excellent report jon. :)

The PB's don't look like they could take much more than small arms fire.

Certainly comes across as a 'what were they up to here?' sort of place. We were stockpiling quantities of 'unconventional' weapons in a response to the perceived threat of their use by the axis powers.

It would obviously be interesting to get a closer look at the stores.

There is the remains of a mustard gas store about 20miles away from here

Bowes.png


but if this place had anything to do with that I have no idea. The PB's concrete was only about 6" thick and didn't feel too safe when inside unlike the standard types. Think they were more of a sentry position rather than anything else. Regarding the stores I've pm'd you mate
 
Fantastic report Johnnies !! There are supposed to be a couple of similar structure just down the road here at Steventon but i cant trace them !!
Keep that concrete coming !!!
 
Fantastic report Johnnies !! There are supposed to be a couple of similar structure just down the road here at Steventon but i cant trace them !!
Keep that concrete coming !!!

Cheers for that fluffy, don't know if you have seen this site but Steventon gets a mention http://www.squidoo.com/former-world-war-ii-airfields-in-oxfordshire

I think I can tell you where one of your pillboxes could be... (sorry no flash earth link cos I'm on my phone and you can't get it on this iPhone) if you fire up google maps or GE and locate the hangars to the west of Steventon, there is a brownish field right next to it to the East. Go into roughly the middle of this field then head South towards the railway lines following the tractor path then in the green bit just before the fence and the lines is a square concrete structure. Hope this helps mate
 
There are a few of these at Norton Fitzwarren too..................

Yes, I'm familiar with these but for some reason didn't connect them as the same type. I haven't been to Norton for about 12 years. Maybe I'll put in the effort and go back for a fresh report.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top