Lisnevin Training School was a secure borstal that looked after adolescent boys who were either on remand or had been referred from more open training schools. Opening in 1973, the site could accommodate up to 40 boys, many of which were either violent or were at risk of absconding. Surrounded by a seven-meter fence, this…
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Following intense bombing during the Second World War, Londoners were in need of new homes – and fast. The solution adopted by the Government was a unique scheme which saw temporary homes being built in factories, sometimes by prisoners of war, to speed up the construction process. 1,500 homes were destroyed in Lewisham in the…
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This Royal Observer Corps observation bunker was constructed in 1959 and closed with the first wave of posts in 1968 (unlike those remaining in operation into the 1990s). As a result, it has been exposed to the elements and vandals for longer and appears to have suffered an arson attack. An original bed survives as…
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Nearly 1,000 anti-aircraft sites were built during the Second World War and 192 were retained for use with nuclear weapons in what would be known as the Cold War. Under a plan code named ‘Igloo’, 78 sites were chosen with 54 having guns permanently mounted however at the outbreak of the Korean War, 683 batteries…
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We have been fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to document a nuclear bunker built in the basement of Castle Point Borough Council’s offices. It was initially built for emergency planning during a nuclear war, but has been equipped more recently to handle environmental disasters or terrorism. In the late 1980s, plans were drawn…
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This Isle of Sheppey, which name comes from Old English for ‘Sheep Island’, was once two isles, Harty to the south east and the Isle of Elmley to the south west which have overtime merged, giving us the one island we know today. The port at Sheerness dates back to the 17th Century when it was established by…
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Now an overgrown brownfield site, this was once the factory for one of the leading fireworks companies in the whole of the UK. Joseph Wells was the founder of ‘Wells Fireworks’ and established it in Dartford in 1837. He learnt his trade as an explosive lighter man, working along the Thames. The company rapidly became…
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Above the surface it looks like a normal country cottage, but beneath the building lies something completely different – a nuclear bunker. The only clue from above the surface is a pylon, although beneath the surface various rooms were build to accommodate a team to keep the country running in the event of a nuclear…
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This Royal Observer Corps observation post bunker was constructed in 1959 and closed at the end of the Cold War in 1991. Its relatively good condition is likely owing to its late shutdown date compared to ROC posts which shut much earlier. Inside can be found various furniture as well as non-original agricultural manuals.
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In April 1959 proposals were revealed for a new County Library premises, which had been approved by the council but needed funding of £144,000 plus almost £20,000 for archives. Meeting notes from the time reveal that signification improvements in concrete structures since the Second World War meant that pre-cast concrete buildings were becoming more common,…
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