Druridge Bay pillbox (Widdrington Village)
Hemscotthill Links pill box. Photo Northumberland County Council.
Hemscotthill Links pill box. Photo Northumberland County Council.
Pill box disguised as a small 'house'. (1)
A very fine example of a pillbox disguised as a small stone cottage, with brick chimney stack and collapsed roof. This is almost certainly how the disguised building was built, ie as a ruined cottage. The pillbox does not appear to have been inserted within an existing building. It stands at the side of the road. The whole structure is is in good condition, with a corrugated iron shuttered ceiling (roof), a brick interior blast wall, and concrete shelves beneath each of the three main embrasures. These embrasures are in the north and south end walls and in the sea-facing wall (east). The doorway in the west wall is flanked by a rifle port on either side. (2)
Pillbox also recorded under the name of Druridge Bay. (3)
[?]. (4)
Added to the National Heritage List for England on 09/09/2020 at Grade II. (5)
Rectangular pillbox disguised as cottage by the open road (camouflage). South of Hemscotthill, Druridge, North of Cresswell. Constructed in the period 1940-1, as part of the Northumberland Coast Defences, and condition said to be uncertain, although the pillbox is said to be extant. (6a)
Sited at Hemscotthill Links, between a pond to the west roads to the east and south, from examination of EH deskGIS mapping. (6b)
Indexed in the gazetteer of this publication at NZ 283 946. The title of the book also suggests 1940 as the date of construction. (6c)
The feature described by authorities 1-4 is visible as a structure on air photographs examined as part of the North East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey. The feature appears to be extant on the lates 1989 Ordnance Survey vertical photography. (6d)
A very fine example of a pillbox disguised as a small stone cottage, with brick chimney stack and collapsed roof. This is almost certainly how the disguised building was built, ie as a ruined cottage. The pillbox does not appear to have been inserted within an existing building. It stands at the side of the road. The whole structure is is in good condition, with a corrugated iron shuttered ceiling (roof), a brick interior blast wall, and concrete shelves beneath each of the three main embrasures. These embrasures are in the north and south end walls and in the sea-facing wall (east). The doorway in the west wall is flanked by a rifle port on either side. (2)
Pillbox also recorded under the name of Druridge Bay. (3)
[?]. (4)
Added to the National Heritage List for England on 09/09/2020 at Grade II. (5)
Rectangular pillbox disguised as cottage by the open road (camouflage). South of Hemscotthill, Druridge, North of Cresswell. Constructed in the period 1940-1, as part of the Northumberland Coast Defences, and condition said to be uncertain, although the pillbox is said to be extant. (6a)
Sited at Hemscotthill Links, between a pond to the west roads to the east and south, from examination of EH deskGIS mapping. (6b)
Indexed in the gazetteer of this publication at NZ 283 946. The title of the book also suggests 1940 as the date of construction. (6c)
The feature described by authorities 1-4 is visible as a structure on air photographs examined as part of the North East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey. The feature appears to be extant on the lates 1989 Ordnance Survey vertical photography. (6d)
N11896
Second World War (1939 to 1945)
MEASURED SURVEY, The Defence of Britain Project 2002
AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH INTERPRETATION, English Heritage: North East Coast NMP Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey ; Archaeological Research Services
AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH INTERPRETATION, English Heritage: North East Coast NMP Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey ; Archaeological Research Services
Disclaimer -
Please note that this information has been compiled from a number of different sources. Durham County Council and Northumberland County Council can accept no responsibility for any inaccuracy contained therein. If you wish to use/copy any of the images, please ensure that you read the Copyright information provided.