1997: On the W side of the River Colne, a few yards N of Lexden Bridge, the embankment is lined with a concrete wall, c.5’ high up to the level of the meadow behind. Projecting from the top of the wall are 9+ anti-tank rails, each 3-4’ high and probably made from cut lengths of RSJ. The river at this point is very shallow and these would have been put into this position to prevent tanks crossing the river bed. A low-level aerial photograph taken in 1948 shows the wall, plus three anti-tank cubes between it and the W end of the bridge. The site of the rails has not been visited but they can be clearly seen from the bridge.<1>

It is thought that Lexden Bridge marked the junction of the Eastern Command Line around the N of Colchester and the anti-tank line around the S of the town.

One photo of site.<2>

1997: SITE ASSESSMENT:
Extant anti-tank rails are very rare. At the time of this entry most of the County’s lines of defence have been surveyed and this is the first extant rails, as opposed to hairpins, which have been recorded.

2007: SITE ASSESSMENT:
With the greater part of Essex’s World War Two defence sites now visited, over 2,000, no other instances of as many as nine intact rails have been discovered. As a rarely-surviving example of this defence type, the Spring Lane rails should be statutorily protected.

See also <3>.