Record Details
| NHER Number: | 35429 |
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| Type of record: | Building |
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| Name: | Royal Observer Corps orlit post/World War Two monitoring post |
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Summary
This Cold War monitoring post was in use from 1961 to 1991 as a seismic station to record nuclear explosions. The surface features are still intact and the interior still retains the carrier receiver, furniture and robotic equipment. A World War Two aircraft observation post also survives near to this orlit post.
Images - none
Location
| Grid Reference: | TF 8509 3507 |
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| Map Sheet: | TF83NE |
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| Parish: | SOUTH CREAKE, WEST NORFOLK, NORFOLK |
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Full description
July 1961-September 1991.
Surface features intact, interior still retains WB1401 carrier receiver and furniture; also robotic equipment still functioning driven by a number of large batteries. This is believed to be a seismic station to record nuclear explosions.
World War Two aircraft observation post remains nearby with two rooms.
See (S1).
E. Rose (NLA) July 2000.
2001.
Cold War MPP assessment identifies this as a site of national importance, and it is to be listed or scheduled.
See file for details and report on CD ROM (S2).
D. Gurney (NLA) 27 December 2001.
2007.
Sold at auction for £10,000.
See (S3) in file.
D. Gurney (NLA) 20 February 2007.
August 2007. Listed Grade II.
Underground concrete monitoring post, dating to the 1950s, located below a parcel of open land which also includes a brick aircraft observation post, dating from the Second World War. A vertical access shaft 4.5m deep with an iron ladder fixed to the wall leads down to the underground chamber, a reinforced-concrete box (5.8m x 2.6m x 2.3m).
A brick aircraft observation post, dating from the Second World War stands adjacent to the post, close to the road. A blast proof entrance leads to the first room where there is an instrument mounting. Two steps lead down to a second room.
The site at South Creake was acquired for the Secretary of State for Air in 1953 and a further area of land was acquired in 1962. Norfolk only retained 24 posts out of 55 that were operational prior to October 1968. A third and final re-clustering took place in the 1980s for communication purposes, linking South Creake to posts at Gressenhall and Melton Constable. Regular training continued throughout the 1980s but by 1991 it was decided that the Royal Observer Corps would cease active training and the remaining underground monitoring posts were closed. South Creake continued to be used as a seismic station until it was finally decommissioned and sealed in 2004.
The South Creake example possesses special interest from being an intact example of a relatively common Cold War structure retaining original fixtures and fittings.
Information from (S1), (S2) and (S4).
A. Cattermole (NLA), 12 November 2009.
Monument Types
- ORLIT POST (Mid 20th Century to Late 20th Century - 1961 AD to 1991 AD)
- ROYAL OBSERVER CORPS MONITORING POST (Mid 20th Century to Late 20th Century - 1961 AD to 1991 AD)
Associated Finds - none
Protected Status
Sources and further reading
| --- | Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2011. Bonkers about bunkers from a former MAD Cold War world. 19 March. |
| <S1> | Article in Serial: Catford, N.. 1999. Royal Observer Corps Underground Posts in Norfolk.. Norfolk Industrial Archaeology Society Journal. Vol 6, no 4, pp 59-70. pp 51-70. |
| <S2> | Monograph: Cocroft, W.. 2001. Cold War Monuments: An Assessment by the Monuments Protection Programme.. |
| <S3> | Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2007. No more underground spying as bunker comes out of the cold. 20 February. |
| <S4> | Monograph: Cocroft, W.D. & Thomas, R.J.C.. 2004. Cold War. Building for Nuclear Confrontation 1946-1989.. |
Related records - none
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