Grandstand Road, anti tank blocks

Site of WW2 concrete roadblock. On Grandstand Road near to town moor and aircraft hangar (HER 5570). This stop line defended Newcastle from the west, it consisted of a series of large concrete blocks placed along the west side of the carriageway. The blocks were square, measuring 1.5 metres x 1.5 metres and were spaced at 1 metres intervals. Stop-lines included permanent and moveable road barriers. The most substantial works were formed from square or cylindrical concrete blocks entwined with barbed wire and fitted with explosives. Moveable obstacles consisted of horizontal or vertical bars or poles of steel, set between concrete blocks. Bent steel girders could also be slotted into sockets cut into the road surface. Modern road improvements are removing evidence for both, but some of the original blocks or aperatures have been observed in-situ. Cylindrical blocks have been used to line private roads or placed on river banks to combat erosion {Defence of Britain Handbook, 1995}.