Old air vent

Church Street - Western end

We have been told that what looks like part of an old lamp post at  the top of Church Street on the opposite side from the church, is part of an old air vent to a WW2 bunker buried underneath. Does anyone know if this is correct?

Editor: It is unlikely this is to do with a WW2 bunker as the stump appears to be Victorian made by Ham Baker & Co of Westminster. Ham Baker were manufacturers of water related equipment and piping, although they did make lamp posts. The most likely explanation for this item is that it is a sewer vent pipe and may have been above a cess pit.

It is interesting to note there was an Observer Corps lookout post about 100 yards north of here in the fields during the early post war period which is dealt with elsewhere here.

But do you know better?

Comments about this page

Add your own comment

  • Pitsea has one exactly the same in Rectory Road, and it was called a stink pipe, They were spaced out along sewers to vent gases and smells high above street height in Victorian times .

    By Jo Cullen (25/07/2023)
  • Thank you for your reply. We have heard about the observer corps that you mention and tried to look for signs of it but couldn’t see anything. I’m not sure if there would be anything to see now. We looked in the field at the top of church street. Thank you again for your information.

    By Helen (05/10/2017)

Add a comment about this page

Your email address will not be published.