Immediately N of Roman Way Camp, at the junction where the road which passes the camp meets Berechurch Road, is an extant 29mm Spigot Mortar emplacement. It lies on the E side of the junction, N of a footpath.

The pit which holds the mounting pedestal is 9’ across and is, very unusually, lined with sandbags. Also, again unusually, it is circular. Normally, these pits were formed from concrete or house bricks in an octagonal shape. Over the years, the bags have rotted away, leaving the impacted sand stacked up, still in its sandbag shapes. This is, naturally, very fragile and could easily crumble. In the centre is the mounting pedestal. This is made, typically, from a 3’6” diameter sewage pipe, stood on end. Inside this, the steel framework and pintle were fixed, the whole pipe then being filled with concrete. The pintle, on which the spigot mortar was mounted, is in this case made of steel rather than the far more normal stainless steel. The outer sewage pipe has broken and a large part is missing, although the inner concrete has kept the pedestal solidly in shape. In the E side of the pit an ammunition alcove has been formed for holding the “bombs”. Again, this has been made from stacked-up sandbags, with a concrete slab across the top. The alcove is c.4’6” wide. The entire pit is half-filled with debris and is now c.2’ in depth.

During World War Two the anti-tank ditch which protected Colchester ran from E to W across the Roman Way Camp road some 150 yards to the S. Although this is well within the range of a 29mm spigot mortar, the recommended engaging distance was 80-100 yards. The ditch and its covering pillboxes were constructed in 1940. Two years later, when spigot mortars were issued, this emplacement may have been sited by the Home Guard (it was a Home Guard weapon rather than regular army) to cover both the defence line and the junction, as its field of fire clearly covers Berechurch Road to the W and the Roman Way Camp road to the S.

Nine photos were taken of the site.<1>

SITE ASSESSMENT:
At least 20 spigot mortar emplacements are known to have been built around Colchester and this is the fifth to be discovered extant. Like the others, and the surviving pillboxes, it is an integral part of the history and heritage of Colchester and every effort should be made to ensure its continued survival.

See also <2> & <3>.