Second World War air raid shelter, Thorrington (EHER 49444)

This large, concrete bunker stands in a working yard at the junction of two roads immediately south of a level crossing traversing the railway line from Colchester to Clacton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze. Although of characteristic WWII shape, size and general appearance, and built of typical WWII concrete, the actual design of the Thorrington bunker follows no standard typology. Considering all the known sources, the physical survival and valuable confirmation from local memory and archives, it is now clear that the bunker was a wartime air raid shelter built by Essex County Council for its employees.

This large, concrete bunker stands in a working yard at the junction of two roads immediately south of a level crossing traversing the railway line from Colchester to Clacton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze. It measures 19’ x 16’6”, semi-sunken, with 3’3” showing above ground level. The roof is almost flat although part of it slopes down from south to north such that the north side is 2’ 6” high. On the east side, six steps lead down to an open full-height entrance. The structure, at the time of the site visits was partly covered with pallets, etc. so that not all of the roof and sides could be seen. There are no loopholes. Through the roof there are four small spaced-out holes, probably for ventilation. Site visit R. Kennall, 5th of January, 2015 At the time of the first visit, the top of the steps was blocked by a protective wooden framework but the interior of the bunker could be seen to be flooded to a possible depth of 18/24 inches. Site visit by Danny Ballinger, 12 of January, 2015 By the second visit, the steps had been cleared and the interior had been pumped out to allow access. Descending the steps, by the entrance there is an upright earthenware pipe set into the concrete base. This probably leads to a sump for water drainage although now it appears to be the source of the flooding. Inside, there are two curved-roof chambers separated by a dividing wall. This has two full-height openings to allow access from one to the other. Each chamber is approximately 15 feet long x 8 feet wide although the lower part of the north room is probably around 2 feet narrower than this owing to the side wall having been built three-quarter height out from its natural position to form a top shelf (see photographs). Floor to ceiling, at its centre, each room measures 6’ 6”. Only here is it possible to stand upright. It is clear that most of the bunker was built by shuttering with normal width wooden planks. However, the curved ceilings were formed by shuttering with rows of thin slats, presumably to get a uniformly rounded shape. At the far end (west) of the northern room there is a blocked-up, approximately 3’ 6” square opening at floor level. This has been sealed with rough rocks standing, and probably loosely cemented, on top of each other to form a wall. From the outside there is no sign of this as it is below the natural ground level around the bunker.<1> With close to 1,000 extant World War Two defence sites visited and documented in Essex, the bunker at Thorrington falls into no so-far-recorded pattern. Although of characteristic WWII shape, size and general appearance, and built of typical WWII concrete, the actual design of the Thorrington bunker follows no standard typology. Considering all the known sources, the physical survival and valuable confirmation from local memory and archives, it is now clear that the bunker was a wartime air raid shelter. Its construction of “WWII concrete”, its size (holding perhaps 20 people), its position facing the workshops, the air holes in the roof and, importantly, the rear escape hatch, which would have typically been filled with loosely laid bricks to be kicked out if the occupants became trapped, are all significant features. It is probable that if the ground was cleared outside the escape hatch there would be concrete steps or steel rungs leading up to ground level. Built during the early part of the war, there would have been a commitment to provide Essex County Council employees with protection against bombing raids, despite the rural location of this site. Companies and organisations often had shelters built on their premises, sometimes in the basement or in the grounds of their factory or offices, as at Ekco Works in Southend and Courtaulds in Halstead. This bunker was probably designed on-the-spot. Air raid shelters were built, commercially, to many standard patterns but there were also many non-standard constructions. <1>