Report - North Weald Redoubt - Epping - January 2023

[Hidinginplanesite]

Explored with @WilsonTheHuman

I wanted to do north weald Bassett for a while now but for some reason just never got around to exploring the fort, Well to kick off the 2023 travels, we picked up friends ( one who is local to me.) And another friend who was staying near the fort and headed to the fort, we got to the fort around 1pm and it was pretty simple ( just very muddy), we made our way in and started to look around, halfway through our visit there was another bunch of people who was looking around the fort, we kept looking around and we were able to get into some parts of the fort, my mate who been before said it was flooded and showed me photos from when she went, but this time round it was still pretty dry ( knowing fact we had hella lot rain ) as we coming out the fort a family was coming into the fort


So it said that the fort is a rare survivor off London mobilization centers to help protect London, it also said it is a victorian fort and it was built on top the hill, it said it was late victorian

the site was used in ww1,and by 1919 it said the site was brought by a telegraphy company who bult a radio station, the site was also used in ww2 , It said in the 1950s the site was taken over by GPO but was decommissioned in 1990s

 

[Bertie Bollockbrains]

There's an Alan-Williams Turret in your photos - a very rare type of WW2 pillbox. Only a couple of hundred were ever built and just a handful remain. What a shame it has been covered in graffiti and left for neglect

An Allan Williams Turret is a Pillbox formed by a metal turret, which could be rotated through a full 360 degrees, set above a steel and brick-lined pit. It was designed for a machine gun to be fired either through the front loophole, which was further protected by shutters, or through the circular opening in the roof in a light anti-aircraft role. According to the manufacturer, it was suitable for Vickers, Bren, Hotchkiss, or Lewis machine guns in either a ground defence or anti-aircraft role, or a Boys anti-tank rifle or rifle grenade for ground defence. More Info here

28dl report of one in Lincolnshire

 

[Wally_urbex]

Great picture's kimmy