St. Margaret's Bunker

Situated in some woods just off Lighthouse Road, St. Margaret's, this bunker is built into the ground with it's roof just level with the surface. The entrance is down a short ladder of iron rungs fixed into the masonry of the surrounding wall. The newly opened entrance is a tight squeeze through a narrow slit at the bottom of a recently dug out earth infill. Thanks due to whoever did the donkey work :-) . This appears to be the emergency entrance and a doorway leads into a tunnel stretching over 40 yards away to a bricked up (main) entrance. There is no sign of this entrance on the surface. In the other direction the tunnel leads after about 10 yards into a magazine, with a sealed shell lift shaft by the entrance. The interior is in quite good condition with light fittings still in place, and overhead shell hoist runners in good condition. For a plan of the South Foreland battery see maps. Photos taken Feb.2001.

 

Plan of Bunker and Magazine courtesy of John Vaughan.

 

Entrance trench from roof (bushes and all) of bunker.

 

Iron rungs leading down to entrance slit. Bunker on right of Photo.

 

Entrance with steel shutter, actually this would have been an emergency exit.

 

View across same room to door, which leads into...

 

...tunnel or corridor. Going to the right tunnel leads to...

 

...bricked up entrance after about 40 yards. This was originally the main entrance.

 

Turning left from doorway, tunnel leads into...

 

...magazine after about 10 yards.

 

Looking back towards tunnel from end of magazine. Note overhead shell hoist runners.

 

Close up of steel roof beams and runners. Still in good condition.

 

On the floor are two rows of shaped wooden shell holders.

 

Steel doors to magazine. Now removed from hinges and standing

just to right of magazine entrance, at bottom of...

 

...shell lift shaft. Shaft is now boarded over with wooden planking.