Scheduled Monuments›England›Valentine Tank Assemblage, Poole Bay

Valentine Tank Assemblage, Poole Bay

England
List entry 1459754
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1459754
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
11.58 hectares
Grid reference
SZ0695085105, SZ1143188919
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Valentine Tank Assemblage is a First World War anti-tank obstacle installation located in Poole Bay, Dorset. The site comprises a series of concrete anti-tank blocks or "dragon's teeth" defences constructed as part of Britain's coastal defence preparations during the Second World War, specifically within the Stop Line system designed to impede potential German invasion. These reinforced concrete obstacles were positioned strategically in the shallow waters and foreshore to obstruct the passage of armoured vehicles and landing craft. The assemblage remains a significant example of mid-twentieth-century military engineering and represents the extensive defensive infrastructure that characterised the English coast during the early 1940s.

Valentine Tank Assemblage, Poole Bay is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1459754. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Valentine Tank Assemblage, Poole Bay?

Valentine Tank Assemblage is a First World War anti-tank obstacle installation located in Poole Bay, Dorset. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1459754.

Who is responsible for protecting Valentine Tank Assemblage, Poole Bay?

Valentine Tank Assemblage, Poole Bay 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 1459754.

What other scheduled monuments are near Valentine Tank Assemblage, Poole Bay?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bowl barrow 390m east of Tuckton Roundabout (5 km), Two bowl barrows 405m north west of Barn Cottage, Hengistbury Head (5.5 km), Site of Town Walls in, and E of, Druitt Gardens (5.7 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Valentine Tank Assemblage, Poole Bay

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Valentine Tank Assemblage, Poole Bay's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Bowl barrow 390m east of Tuckton Roundabout
5 km
Two bowl barrows 405m north west of Barn Cottage, Hengistbury Head
5.5 km
Site of Town Walls in, and E of, Druitt Gardens
5.7 km
Fern Barrow: a bowl barrow on Talbot Heath
5.8 km
Pre-Conquest monastery, early Christian cemetery, Augustinian priory and a motte and bailey castle at Christchurch
5.8 km
World War II pillbox and tank traps in former railway yard N of town
6.1 km
Multi-period landscape on Hengistbury Head
6.1 km
Round barrow on St Catherine's Hill camp
6.9 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Valentine Tank Assemblage, Poole Bay

Valentine Tank Assemblage, Poole Bay stands on Eocene claystone, bedrock that formed in the Eocene. The rock here is claystone.

Domesday entry for Christchurch, Hampshire →
All Scheduled Monuments