NHER 31790 (Monument record) - World War Two pillbox

February 1996. Exposed by tidal scour on beach; adjacent to former site of Manor House washed away in 1950s.
Pillbox, unusual form; somewhat similar to type 20 or 28 but not exactly the same. Square, around 3m, and 2m high. External brick cladding in stretcher bond now almost gone. Concrete core has H shaped arrangements of brick ties or strengthening. Complete inner brick facing remarkably in Flemish bond. Northwest and northeast corners chamfered off. Door in west wall off centre to south. Loophole to north has three external revetments, the brick courses projecting above; a pintle remains in the sill, being a hollow metal tube with a projection to one side, and below the latter a groove has worn in the concrete three sided internal sill. There are eight bolts for a shutter, two in each jamb. A second loophole to the sea (east) has similar bolts but no revetments or traces of gun. No openings to west or south. Notable that gun therefore faced north along beach, not out to sea.
Now part full of sand and leaning.
(S1) in file.
E. Rose (NLA), 4 March 1996.

Photographs (S2) in file.

May-November 2004. Norfolk Rapid Coastal Zone Archaeological Survey.
Inter-tidal survey (Environmental Zone 24), Context 115:
A Second World War pillbox at TG 52709 12420 was monitored. It was embedded in beach sands, with it base subsided and roof sloping. It had shifted from its original strategic position.
See assessment report (S3) for further details.
The associated archive has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.421).
J. Allen (NLA), 27 April 2005. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 21 July 2019.

July 2005. Norfolk NMP.
An extant World War Two pillbox is visible on contemporary and later aerial photographs (S4 to S7). This pillbox is located on the beach at Caister on Sea at TG 52715 12415.
It is square in form with sides of approximately 4m in length and appears to be a variation of the Vickers machine gun pillbox. The construction date of this pillbox is not certain. It is not obviously visible on aerial photographs dating to February 1941 or earlier (S8) but it was probably built shortly afterwards. It is likely that it was originally positioned on top, or at the base, of the cliffs to the north of the Manor House. This location would account for the principal embrasure facing north up the beach rather than east out to sea as noted above. During World War Two the army occupied the Manor House Hotel site. Associated defences are recorded as NHER 27508. However the hotel was destroyed by coastal erosion in 1941 (S9). This erosion also destroyed the cliffs supporting the pillbox, resulting in it ending up on the beach by 1944 (S4). It appears to have still been in use at that time and was linked to the cliffs by a section of beach scaffolding (NHER 27508).
This pillbox remained visible on the beach until at least 1955 (S5 to S7). A photograph showing it half buried in sand after erosion in 1996 is published in (S10) but the grid reference stated is incorrect.
J. Albone (NMP), 26 July 2005.