Monument record 4083 - Slit trenches and pillbox at North Rode

These are three slit trenches on field edge overlooking railway embankment. Slit trenches were short trenches used to protect troops or provide a defended area from which to shoot the enemy. They were often built for practice purposes. There is also a square concrete base that was probably a pillbox, which were small squat buildings with thick concrete walls and roof. They could accommodate a variety of firearms ranging from rifles to anti-tank guns and were normally used to defend vulnerable or sensitive areas such as airfields and factories and were built in Britain during World War 2. Pillboxes had embrasures which are small rectangular openings in walls used to allow soldiers defended in a pillbox to shoot out at, or observe the enemy.