Information for record number MWA9558:
Bidford on Avon Royal Observer Corps Underground Monitoring Post

Summary Royal Observer Corps Underground Monitoring Post at Bidford on Avon. Monitoring posts were to be used for reporting nuclear bursts and monitoring fall-out in the modern period. The post lies at the end of a farm track 500 meters from Stratford Road, Bidford.
What Is It?  
Type: Underground Monitoring Post, Royal Observer Corps Site
Period: Unknown
Where Is It?  
Parish: Bidford on Avon
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 11 52
(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 National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 The primary role of the Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was the recognition and identification of hostile aircraft. With the start of the cold war and the increasing threat of nuclear attack in the 1950's, the ROC was given the added responsibility of reporting nuclear bursts and monitoring fall-out which necessitated the construction of 1563 underground monitoring posts throughout Great Britain & Northern Ireland. In a rectangular compound at end of farm access track 200 yards from Stratford Road, just west of the boundary fence of Bideford Grange Golf Course. Welded shut. All surface features remain intact with some flaking green paint. There is a double step up to the ventilation shaft and the adjacent ventilation shaft has been demolished below the level of the louvres. Photograph. Opened June 1960. Closed September 1991.
 
Sources
Source No:
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Twentieth Century Fortifications in England, vol XI.1
Author/originator: Dobinson C S
Date: 2000
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: vol XI.1
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Royal Observer Corps An Online Survey of the UK's R.O.C and UK W.M.O Monitoring Posts
Author/originator: Subterranea Britannica
Date: 2002
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
period Modern The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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period modern About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
more -> 		back
monument YARD * A paved area, generally found at the back of a house. back
monument GRANGE * An outlying farm or estate, usually belonging to a religious order or feudal lord. Specifically related to core buildings and structures associated with monastic land holding. Use specific term where known. back
monument GOLF COURSE * A prepared area of ground used to play the game of golf on. back
monument VENTILATION SHAFT * A shaft designed to allow for the adequate circulation of air through a transport tunnel, for example. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument ROYAL OBSERVER CORPS SITE * A site or structure associated with the activities of the Royal Observer Corps. The Corps was formed on 1 January 1947 and disbanded in 1991. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument FORTIFICATION * A usually permanent defensive work. Use specific type where known. back
monument AIRCRAFT * An aircraft, either whole or in part. Aircraft often survive as commemorative monuments, gate guardians or crash sites. back
monument UNDERGROUND MONITORING POST * A small underground chamber from where it was intended to monitor radioactive fallout in the event of nuclear attack. The majority were built between 1956 and 1964, although construction continued into the early 1970s. back
monument FARM * A tract of land, often including a farmhouse and ancillary buildings, used for the purpose of cultivation and the rearing of livestock, etc. Use more specific type where known. back
monument BOUNDARY FENCE * A fence that indicates the limit of an area or a piece of land. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record