Visited with @Chloe Explores and Zoe.
We arrived here at the end of a day in Kent on the way back to our morning meet point. It was dark by this point but thought we would give it a go. I had been before with my daughter last year but we only got as far as the fence, I had no idea what it actually was until this visit.
After a bit of a struggle for me getting in coz I’m old and creaky we entered a room that had suffered a fire, and went in through the door to this huge complex of rooms. The smell of fuel in there was really strong, I believe it’s from the basement that is flooded with a mix of water, fuel and oil. The floors in some of the rooms have fall in and many of the internal walls have been smashed up. There’s evidence of a cannabis farm having been here as well.
A fascinating place to explore and relatively relaxed although I felt a little uneasy being in there, probably the fumes getting to me. I believe there is some machinery in the basement but we had read the water mix is around a foot deep so we didn’t go down. Coming back out I had the same struggle and discovered just how creepy ducks sound in the dark from a nearby pond.
I apologise if the pictures are a bit meh, was hard to edit for some reason.
History - (borrowed from here and elsewhere)
AAOR's or Anti-Aircraft Operations Rooms were used to coordinate early warning radar information by filtering the RAW data from the radar to make the data as useful as possible. They also coordinated with ROC stations.
Originally constructed as an Anti Aircraft Command operations room in 1951, and disused in 1960. It formed part of the Pendell Army Camp which was removed to make way for the M23. The bunker is situated adjacent to the London-bound carriageway of the M23 at junction 8 at the bottom of an embankment. The radio array can be seen from the motorway.
The site was taken over by the Home Office in the early 1960s and allocated to the Metropolitan Police as its southern war headquarters, and remained so until 1991, when it was partially stripped out. Some equipment was still in place when visited by Sub Brit members in 1995.
The bunker was sold in Autumn 2001 but nothing was done on the site and it was used for grazing gypsy horses. After being sold it slowly fell into dereliction. At some point It was used to grow cannabis and was raided and cleared out. Evidence of planters and fertilizer still remain.
From a SubBrit post from 15 years ago: “Between March 2004 and August 2004 the site was badly vandalized. The padlock has been cut off the gate in the metal fence surrounding the actual bunker allowing access into the inner compound. The arial has been pulled down and was lying on the roof. The padlock has been cut off the outer blast door which was open however the inner blast door is locked. Graffiti has been sprayed on the wall of the bunker near the rear exit and some of the ventilation louvres have been damaged.
It would appear that in early 2005 the bunker was sold and the new owner moved in. The earth mound blocking entry into the outer compound from the road has been removed and there are various signs up saying "Private Property dogs Loose." There are various caravans, mini buses,taxis, skips, lorries and plant in the outer compound.
In September 2005 I saw a contractor going into the outer compound and he stated that the new owner was going to turn the bunker into a "secure storage facility." The contractor was repairing the bunker and
said there was no power to the bunker and that it had been completely stripped.
The contractor stated that due to the dogs it would be unwise for people to wander around the site which was possible previously.”
We arrived here at the end of a day in Kent on the way back to our morning meet point. It was dark by this point but thought we would give it a go. I had been before with my daughter last year but we only got as far as the fence, I had no idea what it actually was until this visit.
After a bit of a struggle for me getting in coz I’m old and creaky we entered a room that had suffered a fire, and went in through the door to this huge complex of rooms. The smell of fuel in there was really strong, I believe it’s from the basement that is flooded with a mix of water, fuel and oil. The floors in some of the rooms have fall in and many of the internal walls have been smashed up. There’s evidence of a cannabis farm having been here as well.
A fascinating place to explore and relatively relaxed although I felt a little uneasy being in there, probably the fumes getting to me. I believe there is some machinery in the basement but we had read the water mix is around a foot deep so we didn’t go down. Coming back out I had the same struggle and discovered just how creepy ducks sound in the dark from a nearby pond.
I apologise if the pictures are a bit meh, was hard to edit for some reason.
History - (borrowed from here and elsewhere)
AAOR's or Anti-Aircraft Operations Rooms were used to coordinate early warning radar information by filtering the RAW data from the radar to make the data as useful as possible. They also coordinated with ROC stations.
Originally constructed as an Anti Aircraft Command operations room in 1951, and disused in 1960. It formed part of the Pendell Army Camp which was removed to make way for the M23. The bunker is situated adjacent to the London-bound carriageway of the M23 at junction 8 at the bottom of an embankment. The radio array can be seen from the motorway.
The site was taken over by the Home Office in the early 1960s and allocated to the Metropolitan Police as its southern war headquarters, and remained so until 1991, when it was partially stripped out. Some equipment was still in place when visited by Sub Brit members in 1995.
The bunker was sold in Autumn 2001 but nothing was done on the site and it was used for grazing gypsy horses. After being sold it slowly fell into dereliction. At some point It was used to grow cannabis and was raided and cleared out. Evidence of planters and fertilizer still remain.
From a SubBrit post from 15 years ago: “Between March 2004 and August 2004 the site was badly vandalized. The padlock has been cut off the gate in the metal fence surrounding the actual bunker allowing access into the inner compound. The arial has been pulled down and was lying on the roof. The padlock has been cut off the outer blast door which was open however the inner blast door is locked. Graffiti has been sprayed on the wall of the bunker near the rear exit and some of the ventilation louvres have been damaged.
It would appear that in early 2005 the bunker was sold and the new owner moved in. The earth mound blocking entry into the outer compound from the road has been removed and there are various signs up saying "Private Property dogs Loose." There are various caravans, mini buses,taxis, skips, lorries and plant in the outer compound.
In September 2005 I saw a contractor going into the outer compound and he stated that the new owner was going to turn the bunker into a "secure storage facility." The contractor was repairing the bunker and
said there was no power to the bunker and that it had been completely stripped.
The contractor stated that due to the dogs it would be unwise for people to wander around the site which was possible previously.”
