Cold War Nuclear Monitoring Post, Finchingfield (EHER 19429)

A Royal Observer Corps monitoring post, on the site of a Second World War Royal Observer Corps position. The Cold War site is located (with the surface features intact) in an arable field 100 yards south of Church Hill (near the brow of the hill). At the time of the Defence of Britain survey (1995-2002) the site was found to remain in a fair condition. The site was opened during November 1961 and closed after 1976.

During the 1950s/60s a national network of 870 monitoring posts were set up to provide information in the event of a nuclear attack. Each post was manned by two or three members of the Royal Observer Corps operating from an underground room, often in remote rural areas. Above ground, three devices provided the required information – the Bomb Power Indicator, the Ground Zero Indicator and the Field Survey Meter. These gave the strength of the bomb, its direction and the level of radiation. Below ground there was a single room and a toilet cubicle. The spartan living accommodation consisted of a double bunk, a desk, chair and a cupboard. Collectively, a group of thirty Monitoring Posts would report by telephone to a Group Control Station. <1> 1990-1999. Field survey by N. Catford A private report, compiled in 1998, lists 42 Monitoring Posts in Essex. Each had been visited by the author, apparently during the 1990s, and 23 were found to be extant. <2> September 1995. Site visit. The Monitoring Post was visited by Fred Nash, Paul Gilman and a group of local residents. It is understood that prior to the visit the chamber had been pumped out by the fire brigade. The Post was found to survive in good condition in a meadow east of Finchingfield. Above ground, the entrance hatch, the Fixed Survey Meter mounting post and the ventilation shaft were all extant. The entrance hatch was normally kept padlocked although a substantial part of the concrete is coming away from the hatch surround. A vertical ladder leads 15’ down to the main chamber which measures 15’ x 7’ 6” x 7’ 6” and is faced on the walls and ceiling with polystyrene tiles. On the ceiling is a 6” diameter flange and on the wall is the 9” square ventilation opening. Otherwise, all the fittings have been stripped out. The only other room was a small cubicle for a chemical toilet. The post was reported to have been in constant contact with Group Control at Colchester through a telephone link and 20 yards to the NE of the site is a telephone pole, still with wire attached. The ‘Cold War’ underground site is reported to have replaced an above-ground WWII Royal Observer Corps position which was sand-bagged, hexagonal structure. <3> Fifteen photos of site. <4> <5> See also <6>. Site Assessment: At the present time, there is much interest in the remains of Britain’s Cold War sites and a project to provide more base information is currently being undertaken by English Heritage. At a county level, it is not known whether the survival or condition of the Monitoring Post at Finchingfield is typical of those still extant or whether it is in any way exceptional or unusual. In either case, it is clear that not too many of them still survive. Until such time as a comprehensive study of the county’s Cold War sites can be conducted, by which time statutory protection through MPP may be clarified, it is recommended that all Essex sites which come under threat should be protected through the planning process. NRHE data transfer: 1995-2002. Defence of Britain survey. A Royal Observer Corps monitoring post. The site is located (with the surface features intact) in an arable field 100 yards south of Church Hill (near the brow of the hill). At the time of the Defence of Britain survey (1995-2002) the site was found to remain in a fair condition. <7> <8> 1998-2007. Subterranea Britannica survey. The site was opened during November 1961 and closed after 1976. <8>