The Type-23 Pillbox located behind St. Matthew's Parish Church in Scarva, Co. Down overlooks a bridge across the Newry Canal, which formed part of stop-line B.
The St. Matthew's Parish Church Pillbox in the Co. Down village formed part of defensive stop-line B, which ran from Lough Neagh to Carlingford Lough. The line followed the route of the River Bann and the Newry Canal. The stop lines east of the River Bann in Northern Ireland were constructed in 1940.
This pillbox overlooks the choke-point of the bridge crossing the Newry Canal, a primary entry point into the village. Inside the pillbox remains a platform where, after 1941, Turnbull Mounts would have held a pair of guns – either a Vickers Machine Gun or a Bren. Parts of the Turnbull Mount frame and ammunition recesses are still visible inside the pillbox. Entry to the pillbox was through a doorway in the rear, which remains protected by a concrete blast wall.
