Kelvedon Hatch Secret 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.

Building and intended purpose

The bunker was first built as an air defence station (an 'R4' Sector Operations Control or SOC) as part of the RAF ROTOR air defence project. Upon the demise of the ROTOR SOC the remaining Nuclear Reporting Cell and UKWMO elements were incorporated into a Home office 'Regional Seat of Government' or RSG. The bunker was able to hold various numbers (in the hundreds) of military and civilian personnel, the numbers changing over the years as the role of the building changed from SOC to RSG and in its later years; 'Regional Government Head Quarters' or RGHQ. In the event of a nuclear strike the RGS / RGHQs etc would be tasked to organise the survival of the population and continue government operations. It was built to provide nuclear protection from nearby MOD workers. The area they chose had to be off the main road behind fields and forests to prevent civillians from finding it.

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 hardened ( three level 'R4') Sector Operations Center (SOC) for RAF Fighter Command. It was to provide command and control of the London Sector of Fighter Command. During the 1960s, 70s, 80s and early into the 1990s the UK government (Home Office) maintained the bunker (at some expense) as an [emergency] regional government defence site. 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. It is now a Cold War museum and retains many of its original ROTOR and RGS/RGHQ features.

Inside the bunker

The bunker is built convert|125|ft|m|0 underground and the entrance is through an ordinary looking 'bungalow' (a standard ROTOR 'Guard House') set amongst trees. Once into the bungalow, it leads to a convert|100|yd|m|0 tunnel entering the R4 at its lowest floor (of three). Above are two more floors, the 'hill' which covers it, and a radio mast.

The bunker was able to accommodate some hundreds of personel (the numbers changing as function and form varied over the years) and could sustain them for up to three months. The bunker has air conditioning and heating (using the original ROTOR AC-Plant but replacing the original coolant with a more 'modern' type [c.1980s] ), its own water supply (mains water and its own deep bore hole) and generators, and was equipped with many types of radio equipment, protected (EMP) telecommunications, teleprinter (MSX) networks and various military systems (MOULD and CONRAD etc) etc.

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.

External links

* [http://www.secretnuclearbunker.co.uk/ Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker official website]
* Aboutbritain.com: [http://www.aboutbritain.com/KelvedonHatchSecretBunker.htm Kelvedon Hatch Secret Bunker]
* Subterranea Britannica: [http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/places.html#kelvedon_hatch Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker]
* Subterranea of Great Britain: [http://www.showcaves.com/english/gb/misc/KelvedonHatch.html Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker]