Building record 8445/1/21 - Relocated items at Sywell Air Museum

The Sywell Air Museum building comprises four joined sections, two from RAF Brentwood and two from a PoW camp in Cheshire. A Cold War pillbox (Yarnold Sanger type) lies in the car park and was relocated in the early/mid part of 2007 by museum staff from RAF North Luffenham (Leics). The concrete blocks outside the museum came from Wellingborough Drill Hall and are WWII blocks intended to be placed in the road to obstruct tanks.

{1} Cold War pillbox. Relocated to car park of Sywell Aviation Museum, Northants in early/mid part of 2007 by museum staff. Relocated from RAF North Luffenham (Leics), one of 3 or 4 “which once guarded a small compound containing a Uniter bunker (MoD telecoms, about 1990). One of the other pillboxes revealed that they had been made by ARC Pipes at Pollington, between Pontefract and Goole.” AA notes that they were incorrectly erected when placed at North Luffenham, the example moved to Sywell having its “roof slab as a floor (see tapering sides) whilst that with the makers name has a floor for a roof (straight sides), and a roof for a floor.”

{2} 'The concrete blocks outside the museum came from Wellingborough Drill Hall and are WWII blocks intended to be placed in the road to obstruct tanks. The three central units of the museum came from RAF BRENTWOOD with the two end ones being from a POW camp in Cheshire. The YARNOLD SANGER concrete pillbox is from RAF NORTH LUFFENHAM.'

<1> Armishaw, A., 2007, Pillbox relocated from RAF North Luffenham, (checked) (Letter). SNN107273.

<2> Northamptonshire HER, Unknown, Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments, Emails from Robert Vaughan 7th and 10th Nov 2025 (Oral Report). SNN115011.

Record last edited

Mar 23 2026 3:30PM