Between Piers No. 15 and 16 of Chappel Viaduct, under the E edge of the arch, stands a Home Guard spigot mortar pedestal. It is 39 inches high, 43 inches diameter and is surmounted by a rusted steel pintle. This is unusual in that the great majority of pintles were made of stainless steel. This pedestal is not in good condition. The outer casing, a sewage pipe stood on end, is breaking away revealing the rough concrete interior. From this position, which would have covered an attack along the road to the NE, the crew would have been partially sheltered by the viaduct arch from air and mortar attack.

Two photos of site.<1>

SITE ASSESSMENT:
The quantity, diversity and survival of the WWII defences in the Chappel Viaduct area form a rare, interdependent, compound site. These include the four major types of pillbox on the Eastern Command Line (SMR 20000/MCC4798, 20001/MCC4799, 20004/MCC4800 and 20008/MCC4801), 28 concrete anti-tank cubes (SMR 20002/MCC5130 and 20005/MCC5132), three concrete anti-tank cylinders (SMR 20002/MCC5130) and two spigot mortar pedestals (SMR 10997/MCC5127 and 10998/MCC5128).

OCTOBER 2002: Site designated Scheduled Monument NHLE No. 1020687. This scheduled site is in seven parts. See also SMR's 10996 (MCC4797), 10998 (MCC5128), 20000 (MCC4798), 20001 (MCC4799), 20002 (MCC5130), 20004 (MCC4800), 20005 (MCC5132) and 20008 (MCC4801).

See also <2>.