Scheduled Monument

Boarhills, pill boxes 1250m NW ofSM10862

Status: Designated

Documents

Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).

The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.

Summary

Date Added
24/09/2003
Supplementary Information Updated
23/06/2015
Type
20th Century Military and Related: Pillbox
Local Authority
Fife
Parish
St Andrews And St Leonards
NGR
NO 55849 15201
Coordinates
355849, 715201

Description

The monument consists of a pair of well-camouflaged inter-linked Second World War pill boxes set into a rock promontory overlooking the foreshore, facing north-eastwards out to sea.

The pill box on the south-east side of the promontory, which contains the entrance doorway as well as gun embrasures, is partly cut into the rock and partly constructed of rubble masonry, with the excavated rock presumably being put to re-use for the rubble masonry. It is capped by a concrete canopy supported by steel joists. Connecting the first with the second pill box is a rock-cut corridor of arched section that is reinforced for part of its length by metal hoops. The second pill box is on the north-west side of the rock promontory, and has a vertical escape hatch and gun embrasures. The projecting portions of the concrete canopies have inset rocks and turf on their upper surfaces to act as camouflage.

According to local tradition the pill boxes were built by Polish troops, and it is possible that these were from the same contingent that was working on the coastal defence line at Tentsmuir. The defence of the parts of the Fife coast that were deemed particularly vulnerable to enemy landings was a high priority, since the coast was set between the strategically important rail crossings of the Firths of Forth and Tay, and could give access to a major naval base at Rosyth and to important air bases at Leuchars and Crail.

The area to be scheduled is irregular, with maximum dimensions of 105m from south-south-west to north-north-east, and 80m from north-north-west to south-south-east, as marked on the attached map. It includes the pillboxes themselves, an area of the rock above and behind them into which the pillboxes were intended to merge, and an area of rough ground in front of them where there would have been barbed wire entanglements amongst the scrub.

Statement of National Importance

The paired pill boxes which form this monument are of national importance both as a part of a major defensive line constructed along the Fife coast during the Second World War, and as a unique illustration of one of the ways in which individual elements along that line could be adapted to the configuration of the terrain in which they were located.

References

Bibliography

No Bibliography entries for this designation

About Scheduled Monuments

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).

The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.

Scheduled monument consent is required to carry out certain work, including repairs, to scheduled monuments. Applications for scheduled monument consent are made to us. We are happy to discuss your proposals with you before you apply and we do not charge for advice or consent. More information about consent and how to apply for it can be found on our website at www.historicenvironment.scot.

Find out more about scheduling and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 19/03/2024 06:23