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The Coquet Stop Line, which ran from Amble in Northumberland up the valley of the River Coquet, formed part of the defences constructed to meet the threat of a Nazi invasion during the Second World War. It was intended to slow the advance of the German army from the north to give time for a field army to assemble on the Tyne Stop Line around 30 miles to the south.[1][2][3]
The Coquet Stop Line was made up of a string of pillboxes, with a consistent shape that has been referred to as the "Coquet line type" or more accurately "Lozenge" type, and is only found in the North East and parts of Yorkshire. They tend to have open ground in front, often the river or its floodplain, while to the rear, where the entrance is, efforts were made to provide cover for a retreating force.
A few of these pillboxes have been lost: one on the approach to Felton village and another on the west side of the A1 at West Moor have gone. The remains of a sandbag pillbox on the north side of Amble Harbour lie opposite a large concrete block that was built for a harbour chain. There is a brick "lozenge" near the football pitch in Warkworth, though this is more likely part of the "Coastal Crust".
- ^ Long, David (2017). Lost Britain : an A-Z of forgotten landmarks and lost traditions. London: Michael O'Mara Books Limited. p. 35. ISBN 9781782437604.
- ^ Armstring, Craig (2017). North Northumberland at War, 1939–45. Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 9781473867444.
- ^ Foot, William (2006). Beaches, Fields, Streets, and Hills-- The Anti-invasion Landscapes of England, 1940. Council for British Archaeology. p. 593. ISBN 9781902771533.