Site Records

SiteName: North Weald Mobilisation Centre (aka North Weald Redoubt)

North Weald
Essex
TL505040

Subbrit site visit August 1996

These casemates were used to store the tools and other equipment to aid construct of the defence position. A pair of doors to one of these casemates, with the inscription "Shell Store No 2' would suggest that shells may have been stored in these gorge casemates. If shells were stored here, they would have been for the external batteries, the shell stores inside the work supplying the guns on the rampart only. To allow easy removal of the contents of the gorge casemates, two ramps entered the longer section of ditch, one at each end. This would have allowed wagons to enter down one, load and exit by the other. When emptied, the casemates were to form a somewhat Spartan accommodation for 72 soldiers.

The ditch was defended by rifle fire from a caponier and loopholes in the steel doors of the gorge casemates. To prevent the caponier being rushed there was a V shaped drop ditch each side of it. Individual smoke vents were provided above the loopholes in the doors, with larger louvered ones serving the caponier.

No emplacements were provided for artillery, they would have been dug, on mobilisation, in the six promontories in the rampart. During a bombardment the guns would have been sheltered in the gun casemates until needed. It is not known what the armament of the Redoubt was intended to be, probably, it was not intended for any specific gun, rather it was intended to accommodate any of the likely candidates at the time. In the event it would have been 2O pounder R.B.L. (Rifled breech loader) Armstrong's (later replaced with 15pounder BL's), with which the Volunteer Artillery allocated to this position were equipped at the time. A number of factors about the redoubt's design suggest that four guns would have been emplaced in the central positions with a quick firing or machine gun in each flank position.

Rainwater was collected in six cast-iron cisterns and two concrete tanks, one set into the parados and the other in the counterscarp of the ditch. The total capacity of these was 6217 gallons. To the rear were the caretakers cottages, one contemporary with the Redoubt and the second added three years later, both of different designs. North Weald was unusual in this respect, elsewhere accommodation was provided for two caretakers from the outset in semi detached accommodation.

In 1903/04 shell and cartridge stores holding 7,200 x 4.7-inch shells and cartridges respectively were built at the rear, to the side of the caretakers cottages. These buildings were to provide increased ammunition storage capacity needed when the Volunteer Artillery re-equipped with 4.7 inch and 1 5pounder BL Guns. Rainwater was collected from their roofs in an additional 5,000 gallon underground tank.

There was also an intention to build a tent and blanket store between the cottages and the ammunition stores. Currently there is a much altered building on this site, but it is not clear if this was a later addition.

Further information and pictures about this site continues here

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