York Cold War Bunker
Historical place museum · York ·
Explore a preserved Cold War bunker with guides, supercomputers, and history
Explore a preserved Cold War bunker with guides, supercomputers, and history
"Never mind oak panels or a lovely medieval arch, it's blast doors and a decontamination chamber for you out at York's Cold War bunker. Designed as a nerve centre to monitor fallout in the event of a nuclear attack, the bunker actually remained in service until the 1990s. Times have thawed but you can still immerse yourself in a subterranean world and imagine what could have been, surrounded by some colourful mid-century interiors." - Abell Design
"When visiting York, most people make a beeline for the Minster Cathedral, York Castle, or the winding cobbled streets full of boutiques. However, tucked away in a residential street not far from the centre is an imposing reminder of Britain’s Cold War legacy. Originally built back in 1961, the York Cold War Bunker was one of 30 built around the country to monitor nuclear explosions and fallout in the event of a nuclear war. The building was used throughout its operational existence as the regional headquarters and control centre for the York Division of the Royal Observer Corps (ROC): a group of volunteers that met for weekly training scenarios ensuring that they could pinpoint the location and scale of any nuclear detonation in the county. During its Cold War operation, the building was intended to support 60 members of the ROC each working eight hour shifts for a 30-day period before water supplies would have ran out. The fully restored building contains an air filtration system, sewage treatment, kitchen and canteen facilities, dormitories, communication equipment, explosion / radiation detectors and in the control room, and one of two remaining AWDREY supercomputers in the world. Decommissioned at the end of the Cold War in 1991, the bunker gained Scheduled Monument status in 2006 when English Heritage opened it as a tourist attraction." - ATLAS_OBSCURA
"When visiting York, most people make a beeline for the Minster Cathedral, York Castle, or the winding cobbled streets full of boutiques. However, tucked away in a residential street not far from the centre is an imposing reminder of Britain’s Cold War legacy. Originally built back in 1961, the York Cold War Bunker was one of 30 built around the country to monitor nuclear explosions and fallout in the event of a nuclear war. The building was used throughout its operational existence as the regional headquarters and control centre for the York Division of the Royal Observer Corps (ROC): a group of volunteers that met for weekly training scenarios ensuring that they could pinpoint the location and scale of any nuclear detonation in the county. During its Cold War operation, the building was intended to support 60 members of the ROC each working eight hour shifts for a 30-day period before water supplies would have ran out. The fully restored building contains an air filtration system, sewage treatment, kitchen and canteen facilities, dormitories, communication equipment, explosion / radiation detectors and in the control room, and one of two remaining AWDREY supercomputers in the world. Decommissioned at the end of the Cold War in 1991, the bunker gained Scheduled Monument status in 2006 when English Heritage opened it as a tourist attraction." - ATLAS_OBSCURA
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