Information for record number MWA12995:
Cold War Weapons Storage Depot at Lighthorne Heath

Summary Constructed in 1955 as a remote atomic bomb store. Comprised of six bunkers. Two were demolished in 2010.
What Is It?  
Type: Bunker, Storage Depot
Period: Unknown
Where Is It?  
Parish: Compton Verney
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 31 54
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection Local
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Two of the bunkers were recorded prior to their demolition in 2010.
2 A military depot which was a Supplementary Storage Area (SSA) to RAF Gaydon during the early part of the Cold War era is visible on aerial photographs of 1959 to 2008. This was a storage area for nuclear weapons, sometimes also known as a Unit Store. The site now forms part of the National Archive of the British Film Institute (BFI). The majority of original earthworks still survive and are visible on the latest available vertical aerial photographs of 2008. These include D1 an D2 bomb stores, as well as the long linear earthwork of the fissile core stores. This area was surveyed from aerial photographs as part of the SE Warwickshire and Cotswolds HLS NMP project. The depot was not mapped from aerial photographs as all the earthworks and structures visible had already all been recorded on the 1:2500 scale Ordnance Survey Warwickshire map of 1972-4.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Building Survey
Title: Archaeological Recording at BFI National Archive, Lighthorne Rough, Compton Verney
Author/originator: Coutts C & Pratt E
Date: 2010
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 1048
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Desk Top Study
Title: SE Warwickshire and Cotswolds NMP Project
Author/originator: Amanda Dickson
Date: 2010-2012
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
technique Earthwork Earthworks can take the form of banks, ditches and mounds. They are usually created for a specific purpose. A bank, for example, might be the remains of a boundary between two or more fields. Some earthworks may be all that remains of a collapsed building, for example, the grassed-over remains of building foundations.

In the winter, when the sun is lower in the sky than during the other seasons, earthworks have larger shadows. From the air, archaeologists are able to see the patterns of the earthworks more easily. Earthworks can sometimes be confusing when viewed at ground level, but from above, the general plan is much clearer.

Archaeologists often carry out an aerial survey or an earthwork survey to help them understand the lumps and bumps they can see on the ground.
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technique Vertical aerial photograph Vertical aerial photographs are taken from immediately overhead using a camera fixed to the underside of an aeroplane. The camera points directly downwards at 90 degrees to the ground. Vertical photographs are particularly useful for identifying sites that survive as cropmarks. See also oblique aerial photographs. back
technique Aerial Photograph Aerial photographs are taken during an aerial survey, which involves looking at the ground from above. It is usually easier to see cropmarks and earthworks when they are viewed from above. Aerial photographs help archaeologists to record what they see and to identify new sites. There are two kinds of aerial photographs; oblique and vertical. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument INSTITUTE * A building in which a society or organization is instituted to promote science, art, literature, education, etc. Use more specific type where known. back
monument MILITARY DEPOT * A building or group of buildings, often enclosed by a system of fortifications, used by an armed force for the storage and distribution of military equipment. back
monument BOMB STORE * A complex of buildings and earthworks constructed for the storage of bombs and pyrotechnics. back
monument BUNKER * A structure, often built undergound, used for defence and co-ordination of military activity. back
monument WELL * A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water. back
monument LINEAR EARTHWORK * A substantial bank and ditch forming a major boundary between two adjacent landholdings. Most date from the late Bronze Age and Iron Age. back
STORAGE DEPOT * A building or site used for the storage of goods or equipment. back
monument STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back
monument DEPOT * A building or site used as a storage and distribution centre. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record