The Beaulieu Dairy

If you ever visit The New Forest in Hampshire you are almost certain to pass through Beaulieu. If you drive through the village on the B3054 palace lane you will drive over a bridge across the Beaulieu River. As you cross the bridge you may notice what appears to be a round building with a sectioned cone shaped roof of red clay tiles.

If you take the trouble to park your car or cycle in Beaulieu and go for a walk through the village, go and have a closer look at this unusual and photogenic little building.

This building is not open to the public and is situated in a private garden, and there are no arrangements for viewing. It appears to be currently owned by the Mill House B and B.

The building originally a dairy was built around 1820 in the grounds of Mill House.

First thing you will notice is it is not round it is octagonal, the tiled roof has eight sections finished with a conical finial around 5 feet high. The roof has 2 vents or windows inverted V shaped on alternate sections of the roof one facing the road and the other on the river side.

The overall high of the of building is approximately 10 meters(30 feet). The walls of are of red brick and the roof which extends beyond the walls to provide a veranda that surrounds the structure. The eight posts that support the roof are timber supported on brick and concrete bases. The door and the diamond glazed lead light windows open out under the cover of this veranda.

The northern and eastern sides of this curious structure are situated on a parapet 10 feet above the river. There is an inverted V shaped porch over the door. It is an unusual and unique structure.

The Hidden Secret

Although the dairy was built around 1820, in 1940 it underwent some quite unusual alterations. The bridge across the Beaulieu River at this point is the last crossing point before the river reaches the sea. This made it an important road to protect in the event of invasion. Surprise and concealment were considered of paramount importance for defensive positions. It was decided by the military authorities to convert the dairy into a Pill Box¹ Great care was taken not to disturb the structure of the dairy, and the door and firing points of the pill box were aligned with the door and windows of the dairy. The walls and roof were of thick reinforced concrete. With a stout inward opening, steel door to withstand attack.

Evidence of the care taken during construction of the pillbox can be seen. The windows were left in position and only the small glass panes were removed to allow clear view. This was an excellent job of concealment² and if it had seen action would may been very difficult to overcome.

There is little doubt the fabric of the dairy could have been destroyed but the garrison of the pill box would have survived for some time. The field of fire would have prevented enemy forces from using the bridge.

Why Defend Beaulieu

Beaulieu is in Hampshire on the south coast of England was very close to enemy-occupied France. It is located 14 miles from the important port of Southampton and 20 miles as the crow flies from the Royal Navy's headquarters at Portsmouth. During WW II both Portsmouth and Southampton key German targets and among the top 10 bombed areas of the United Kingdom.

Beaulieu's bridge is on an important east west route point over the river. That made Beaulieu a key point for any invasion force to capture and continue its advance to the west. A rapid advance could be made on Salisbury plain³ from the south. Also access to the west would enable the seizure of ports such as Bristol, Weymouth, Exmouth and Plymouth, an important access for supplies from the USA.

Although there had been a functional airfield to the west of Beaulieu from 1910, it was simply too small. So in 1942 the site of the airfield was moved and enlarged to cope with an RAF Bomber Command squadron, No. 224⁴. Using B-24D Consolidated Liberator aircraft. From March 1944 Beaulieu airfield became a base for the USAAF 9th Air Force.

The pillbox was incorporated into the defensive perimeter of this important airfield, that was just 2.5 miles to the west Beaulieu.

Fortunately the pill box was never used and is now just an interesting reminder of a more troubled past. It just goes to show that not everything is at first appears. The Beaulieu Dairy is a Heritage Building and can be found on the Scheduled Ancient Monuments listing.