Monument record 4062 - Pillbox in Middlecale Farm Track, Macclesfield Canal

A type 26 pillbox at Middlecale Farm Track by the Macclesfield Canal. Type 26 pillboxes were heavily constructed buildings, which were square with walls one foot six inches thick and six feet long internally. It usually has one embrasure for every side, except the one with the door. The embrasures are small rectangular openings in walls that allowed soldiers defended in the pillbox to shoot out at or observe the enemy. The southern embrasures on this pillbox were sealed at the time of construction. The pillbox is at canal level adjoining the bridge abutment. It is located were the public footpath to Lyme Park crosses the Macclesfield Canal. It probably housed soldiers with light weaponry such as rifles. It is part of the Western Command Stop Line No. 6, which is a line across the country controlled by Western Command in Chester. In the event of an invasion a Stop Line would hold up enemy forces and allow the armed forces to move around behind the line and concentrate forces on the enemy. It was built during World War Two, a time when most other pillboxes around Britain were constructed.