Description

OMBERSLEY

357/0/10006 World War II Gun Emplacement at Holt F
31-MAR-10 leet

II
World War II gun emplacement, built in 1940 as part of the Severn Stop Line.

EXTERIOR: The gun emplacement is built of reinforced concrete and red brick and is hexagonal in plan. It consists of a low concrete wall clad in red brick with concrete coping forming a hexagon. Above the low brick wall the three northern sides of the hexagon have blind brick walls whereas the three southern sides are open with narrow concrete piers supporting the flat brick roof.

INTERIOR: the sunken floor contains a central concrete mounting for the six-pounder Hotchkiss.

HISTORY: The Gun Emplacement at Holt Fleet was built in 1940-1as part of the Severn Stop line, which together with the anti-tank islands at Tewskesbury, Worcester and Kidderminster, were designed to defend the River Severn and were part of the defences to protect the major industrial centres of the Midlands. At Holt Fleet a number of defences were constructed in the vicinity of the Holt Bridge and consisted of three-barrel flame fougasse and a trench on the southern approach to the bridge, vertical anti-tank road blocks at either end of the bridge and the gun emplacement with a six-pounder Hotchkiss gun facing south on the northern banks of the River Severn. Evidence of the road blocks were revealed in recent years beneath the modern tarmac on the north end of Holt Bridge during waterproofing work by the highway agency.

SOURCES
Wilks, M, The Defences of Worcestershire and the Southern Approaches to Birmingham in World War II (2007), 76-85

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
The World War II Gun Emplacement at Holt Fleet, Worcestershire is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an intact gun emplacement constructed in 1940-1 which retains its historic context close to the River Severn and on the former Severn Stop line.
* Group value: for the close physical and historic relationship between the Gun emplacement and the Grade II listed Holt Bridge which retains evidence of its former anti-tank road blocks beneath the modern tarmac.

Reasons for Listing

The World War II Gun Emplacement at Holt Fleet, Worcestershire, is recommended for listing for following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an intact gun emplacement which retains its historic context close to the River Severn and on the former Severn Stop line.
* Group value: for the close physical and historic relationship between the Gun emplacement and the Grade II listed Holt Bridge which retains evidence of its former anti-tank road blocks beneath the modern tarmac.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26672878

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)