Taunton Stop Line

It was designed "to stop an enemy's advance from the west and in particular a rapid advance supported by armoured fighting vehicles (up to the size of a German medium tank) which may have broken through the forward defences.

Stop Lines used a combination of geography and construction to make continuous defences.

They were constructed as part of a package of field fortifications planned under the leadership of General Sir Edmund Ironside, the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces.

The Taunton Stop Line ran north–south for nearly 50 miles (80 km) through Somerset, Dorset and Devon, from Seaton to Axminster to Chard along the River Axe, then along the Great Western Railway to Ilminster, the railway and Chard Canal to Taunton, the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal to Bridgwater, and the River Parrett to the coast near Highbridge.

[4] Other armaments used included Boys Anti-tank Rifle and mobile QF 2 pounder guns.

Demolition chambers under a bridge over the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal — later filled with concrete and now appearing larger than they were originally.