Cold War Bunker, Former Anti-Aircraft Operations Room And County Emergency Hq, Furze Hill, Mistley (EHER 18178)

Furze Hill was an Emergency Planning Centre operated by Essex County Council and was primarily maintained to administer the county in the aftermath of a nuclear war. It occupies a double-level reinforced concrete bunker built in 1951 as an Anti-Aircraft Operations Room, which was in use until 1954. This was subsequently acquired by the County Council in 1963 and converted into an Emergency Planning Centre, which remained in use until 1993. The bunker is in good condition, and was open to the public as a Cold War museum from 1996 until its closure in 2002. Grade II listed.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. The bunker is situated within a chain-link fence enclosure on a purpose-built track on the southern side of Shrubland Road. The northern part of the site is retained by the County Council as works unit and comprises a modern garage and a single curved corrugated-iron shed, this probably dates from the early 1950s. Entry into the bunker's enclosure is through a set of double gates. On the south side of the entrance is a small transformer house. To its south was a long hut, which was shown on a 1983 map but has subsequently been demolished. In the early 1950's, 27 "Cold War", anti- nuclear Anti Aircraft Operations Rooms (A.A.O.R) were constructed across the country, each to control the fire of between 3 and 10 dispersed Anti Aircraft sites. There were three in Essex- Lippitt's Hill (SMR 10374), Vange (SMR 14748) and Mistley (SMR 18178). The site at Mistley later became a regional nuclear- war headquarters. And it is in this role that it is now open to visitors. <1> <2> <3> <4> Furze Hill was an Emergency Planning Centre operated by Essex County Council and was primarily maintained to administer the county in the aftermath of a nuclear war. It was refurbished and renovated in 1995 and opened to the public as a museum in 1996. <3> It occupies a double-level reinforced concrete bunker built in 1951 as an AAOR (Anti-Aircraft Operations Room). The bunker is a standard semi-sunken AAOR, it is square in plan with entrances in its southern and northern elevations. These were originally covered by open-ended porches to protect the steel double doors from the effect of a direct blast wave. Externally the bunker is largely featureless except for odd vents and rainwater gutters and pipes. On the face of the concrete traces of wooden shuttering is visible. A unique feature of this bunker was the army's Tactical Area of Responsibility Head Quarters which was responsible for controlling military shipping movements through Harwich and Felixstowe. <3> Internally the bunker is arranged around a central double-storey operations room, and is almost symmetrical in plan along its north to south axis. Access to the rooms surrounding the central room is from a continuous corridor which runs around the bunker on both levels. The main functions of the rooms adjoining the operations room were to feed it with information about conditions within the county. With this information it would enable the surviving population to be moved to areas of safety. A unique feature of this bunker was the army's Tactical Area of Responsibility Head Quarters, which was responsible for controlling military shipping movements through Harwich and Felixstowe. <3> Adjacent to the southwest corner of the bunker is a small enclosure containing a radio mast. This is a fairly recent replacement of an earlier mast. <3> Photo Refs- On the Ground and interior shots. <5> - <7> The bunker at Furze Hill is a well preserved example of a semi-sunken AAOR. Internally it retains its original configuration of rooms, original air filtration plant and standby generators. In 1954 the bunker's use as a AAOR was stopped. The bunker was then placed on a care and maintenance regime until 1963 when it was bought for £5,250 by Essex County Council. From the early 1960s the bunker was reused by Essex County Council as an Emergency Planning Centre until 1993; some alterations date from this activity. In 1993 the bunker was de-commissioned and in 1995 it was leased to the Bunker Preservation Trust. The bunker opened to the public In 1996 as a Cold War museum. In 2002 it was closed. The bunker is one of the best-preserved examples surviving of its type in England. It was Grade II listed on 22nd May 2007. <8> <9> <10> Site Assessment Consider for scheduling. <8> Site Listed Grade II ref 496241 22/5/07. Also entered as SMR 39408 - this record deleted as it duplicates 18178 - (SG April 2009) Additional references <11> <12> <13> <14>