Wickham Bishops Road


Wickham Bishops Road Defences, Witham, Essex

Today I visited a site at Wickham bishops road, Essex. It is recorded by Fred Nash and the SEAX group as a road barrier with irregular concrete blocks. However, upon closer inspection of these blocks the thought occurred to me that they look more sections of a demolished/destroyed pillbox.

There are about ten pieces that I could count (it was very wet dull and muddy and overgrown!) With one piece very interesting as it has a steel plate fixed to it.

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This appears to be too irregular for manufactured blocks

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Steel plate approx 18″square 1/4″ thick

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This looks like the one designed specifically as a block. However, they do appear to be WWII concrete. My car in the photos gives some idea as to scale.

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A few hundred yards up the road is a WWII ammunition store. It is one of two that still survives.

By Glenn Fitzgerald