Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The bungalow that serves as the entrance to the Kelvedon Hatch Nuclear Bunker

The Secret Nuclear Bunker at Kelvedon Hatch, in Essex, England, is a large underground bunker used during the cold war as a Regional Government Headquarters. Since being decommissioned in 1992, the bunker has been open to the public as a tourist attraction (known as the Secret Nuclear Bunker), with a museum focusing on its cold war history.

1 Building and intended purpose
2 History
3 Inside the bunker
4 Modern times
5 External links

[edit] Building and intended purpose

The bunker was first built as an air defence station as part of ROTOR, it also briefly served as a civil defence centre. The bunker was designed to hold up to 600 military and civilian personnel. In the event of a nuclear strike their task would be to organise the survival of the population and continue government operations.

[edit] History

The Kelvedon Hatch bunker was built in 1952–53 as part of ROTOR. ROTOR was a programme to improve and harden Britain's air defence network. The bunker was a Sector Operations Command for the RAF Fighter Command. Known as SOC - R4, it was to provide command and control of the London Sector of Fighter Command. During the 1970s, 80s and early in the 90s the UK government maintained the bunker at great expense as a nuclear civil defence bunker, and eventually in the early 1990s when nuclear threat was seen as diminished, the bunker was sold back to the family who had owned the land in the 1950s.

[edit] Inside the bunker

Kelvedon Hatch emergency broadcast tower

The bunker is built 125 feet (38 m) underground and the entrance is through an ordinary looking bungalow amongst some trees. Once into the bungalow, it leads to a 100 yards (91 m) tunnel, allowing an easy defence against intruders, before the bunker itself. Above are two more floors, the 'hill' which covers it, and a radio mast.

The bunker was able to accommodate up to 600 people and could sustain them for up to three months. The bunker has air conditioning and heating, its own water supply and generators, and was equipped with a radio studio and transmitter tower.

[edit] Modern times

By 1992 the bunker was no longer required, so was decommissioned and sold back to the original owners. It has now been renovated and made into a museum and tourist attraction; many locals appreciate the irony of the many brown tourist signs, clearly directing people to the "Secret Nuclear Bunker" in the area.