Information for record number MWA9560:
Henley in Arden Royal Observer Corps Underground Monitoring Post

Summary Royal Observer Corps Underground Monitoring Post at Beaudesert. Monitoring posts were to be used for the reporting nuclear bursts and monitoring fall-out in the modern period. The post was demolished some time after it closed in 1968.
What Is It?  
Type: Royal Observer Corps Site, Underground Monitoring Post
Period: Unknown
Where Is It?  
Parish: Beaudesert
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 15 66
(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. Henley in Arden Monitoring post opened in 1960 and closed in 1968. On a plateau on the north west side of a public footpath leading to a motte and bailey castle mound. The location of the post is marked by an area of disturbed ground.
3 The 1968 OS Card suggests that the castle ditch was damaged by the insertion of the ROC post and therefore the monument boundary extends into the ditch.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
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Source Type: Unpublished document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:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Pers. Comm.
Author/originator: B Gethin
Date: 2013 onwards
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source OS Card Ordnance Survey Record Card. Before the 1970s the Ordnance Survey (OS) were responsible for recording archaeological monuments during mapping exercises. This helped the Ordnance Survey to decide which monuments to publish on maps. During these exercises the details of the monuments were written down on record cards. Copies of some of the cards are kept at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. The responsibility for recording archaeological monuments later passed to the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments. back
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.
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monument BOUNDARY * The limit to an area as defined on a map or by a marker of some form, eg. BOUNDARY WALL. Use specific type where known. 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 FORTIFICATION * A usually permanent defensive work. Use specific type where known. back
monument CASTLE * A fortress and dwelling, usually medieval in origin, and often consisting of a keep, curtain wall and towers etc. back
monument MOTTE AND BAILEY * An early form of castle consisting of a flat-top steep-sided earthen mound, supporting a wooden tower, and a bailey. back
monument DITCH * A long and narrow hollow or trench dug in the ground, often used to carry water though it may be dry for much of the year. 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 FOOTPATH * A path for pedestrians only. back
monument MOUND * A natural or artificial elevation of earth or stones, such as the earth heaped upon a grave. Use more specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record