A trip to Devizes

Took a customer to Devizes this afternoon and it seemed a bit churlish not to have a quick look around while I was there.Failed to find 4 roadblocks 2 pillboxes and a HA site but it wasn't a completely blank day.

Type 22 DOB number S0008716
1 Didn't notice the plaque on the gate till I looked at the picture Doh. It reads

WW 11 pillbox
type 22
English heritage g.........?


2


3 tried to get internals but failed miserably


4


Just outside the town on the Horton road near the Bridge Inn. there sits these beauties

DOB number S0006646
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11 And about 100 feet away is this[the cubes are just behind my car]

Type 22 DOB number S0006645


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Would be interested to know the reason for the yellow line painted round the inside just under the embrasures.

By the time I get down that way you will have nabbed the lot. Love those blocks.

There will be plenty left for thee NC one of the boxes I looked for today was engulfed by the undergrowth and completely hidden another was buried in a new development so will have to wait till winter on those 2.Then there's the stuff I can't reach.....Let me know when you are coming down this way and maybe we can go for a look at some stuff.

Nice bit of concrete there mate no idea on the yellow line though

The yellow line is probably nothing more than a childs attempt at making their den seem more homely ( obviously done a fair few years ago as the yoof of today dont make dens anymore- they either live in their bedrooms playing on their x stations or are out indulging in grafitti and vandalism........ !) Only kiddin'

fluffy5518 said:

..... obviously done a fair few years ago as the yoof of today dont make dens anymore- they either live in their bedrooms playing on their x stations or are out indulging in grafitti and vandalism........ !

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LOL. some of us enjoy looking/photographing dereliction in the company of old-folks like you. Some of that dereliction is even older than you I suspect.
(incidentally, was Tilstock BHQ full of oil when you visited back in June?)

Nice job Oldscrote. That's some serious ww2 gear there.

Horton Bridge Pillbox

Hi Oldscrote

If you look further down the road (south) from the pillbox at Horton there are signs of a second roadblock in the hedge and also a small section of anti-tank ditch which has been filled in and ran to the canal.

Skoyen89

Thanks for the info.Any photos or precise locations cos that's something that isn't on the captains database

All good pointers for me when I get out there. Thanks for the update. It will also give me the chance to go over my old haunts when my dad was posted there when I was young. Just plotting on my OS maps in prep at the mo.

Horton Defences

Hi Sennelager

The other roadblock is 20-30 yards down the road in front of the pillbox and then if you look north towards the canal you can just make out the line of the ditch. Only a short length.

Photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23690313@N04/4340038643/in/set-72157604220718759/

Cheers
Skoyen89

fluffy5518 said:

The yellow line is probably nothing more than a childs attempt at making their den seem more homely ( obviously done a fair few years ago as the yoof of today dont make dens anymore- they either live in their bedrooms playing on their x stations or are out indulging in grafitti and vandalism........ !) Only kiddin'

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I think the yellow line may have had a more practical purpose but I could well be wrong. It's obviously been there for some considerable time because, if you notice, the bits where the concrete has spalled off aren't painted yellow. I wonder if it was painted as some kind of aid to visibility in low light so that the troops manning that position could distinguish where the "shelf" in front of the weapon slits started.

J

Had another trip over to Devizes with a customer and had a quick scout for the third antitank block,found it at
North 51 21 55 52
west 1 56 41 87
The poor thing is covered in ivy but appears to be the same as the other 2 [Square with pyramid top]

Could not see the ditch but I was loosing the light so maybe Sennelager will have more luck when he gets there.Thanks for the info Skoyen89



On the way back I stopped at the bottom of Caen hill flight of locks and got these two blocks at
SOOO8656
once again the light had pretty well gone but I did my best

Caen Lock

Hi Oldscrote

At Horton the ditch can just be made out if you start at the single, lonesome and ivy-covered block and look across the field behind it towards the canal. You probably wouldn't spot it in poor light because it has been filled in and is really only a mark in the field.

And there is another between the two round blocks you found at the foot of Caen Locks and the main road. Again filled in but visible if you look and know where to look!

Cheers
Skoyen89

Thanks for that,,,

,,,,it couldn't have been reassuring when considering how much effort it would have taken for ordinance to penetrate those hollow bricks!!

,,,and those road blocks are very elegant,,,, were they made to a standard design or was the constructor being artistic??

jools said:

Thanks for that,,,

,,,,it couldn't have been reassuring when considering how much effort it would have taken for ordinance to penetrate those hollow bricks!!

,,,and those road blocks are very elegant,,,, were they made to a standard design or was the constructor being artistic??

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Those hollow bricks are used to hold in the 8-18 inches of reinforced concrete when it's being poured...

jools said:

Thanks for that,,,

,,,and those road blocks are very elegant,,,, were they made to a standard design or was the constructor being artistic??

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They are made to a fairly standard design although there were various types of blocks ranging from cubes,pimples,dragons teeth etc.