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Spigot Mortar Emplacement at RAF Kenley is a Second World War defensive structure built to protect the airfield during the period of heightened invasion risk following the fall of France in 1940. The emplacement was constructed to mount a spigot mortar, a simple but effective infantry support weapon that could be rapidly deployed and required minimal infrastructure. RAF Kenley, situated near Caterham in Surrey, was an operational fighter station during the Battle of Britain and remained strategically important throughout the war, necessitating such ground-based anti-tank and anti-personnel defences. The survival of this emplacement at the site provides physical evidence of the comprehensive defensive preparations undertaken at British airfields during the critical early years of the Second World War.
Spigot Mortar Emplacement at RAF Kenley is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1487945. View the official record →
Spigot Mortar Emplacement at RAF Kenley is a Second World War defensive structure built to protect the airfield during the period of heightened invasion risk following the fall of France in 1940. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1487945.
Spigot Mortar Emplacement at RAF Kenley is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1487945.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Fosterdown or Pilgrim Fort: a London mobilisation centre (4.3 km), Large multivallate hillfort at War Coppice Camp (4.3 km), Medieval moated site with associated fishponds, Flower Lane (5.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Spigot Mortar Emplacement at RAF Kenley's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Spigot Mortar Emplacement at RAF Kenley stands on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.