Nant Ffrancon WWII Defences Pill Box A

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Pill Box A is a near square structure built into a slope, and so is partly below ground. It has a flat roof, formed from a concrete slab supported by iron girders. The original turf cover of the roof is largely lost. It has eight gun ports, 2 on the south elevation and 3 each on the east and west elevations. A single gun port on the north side has become covered by soil/turf. The structure is 4.3m x 4.8m in size, and a maximum of 1.2m high above ground.

The pill box is one of two that, along with anti-tank blocks, six spigot mortar emplacements and three infantry positions, form the Nant Ffrancon Anti Invasion Defences Scheduled Monument CN399 which defended the strategically important Ogwen Pass, part of Western Command stop line No. 23 which ran from Bangor to Porthmadog. It dates to the early part of WWII and was manned by the Bethesda Home Guard.

The model was commissioned by the National Trust and created by Gwynedd Archaeological Trust prior to clearance and consolidation works at the structure.