Visited with @UrbanZ.
History (Stolen from Wentworth Estate):
With the outbreak of World War II, Wentworth Estate was selected as an alternative seat of government and a rural command post, offering fewer security problems and more resources than the London Cabinet War Rooms. It is from here that the British government would have operated had it been forced to flee London during the blitzkrieg. Many of the large houses were requisitioned; the golf courses were changed so that enemy planes could not land there; and nearby Virginia Water Lake was drained to prevent its use as a navigation landmark by enemy pilots. A subterranean bunker and tunnel system, now sealed and covered by car parks, was built near the Clubhouse. It consisted of two 25-ft diameter parallel tunnels made from cast iron London Underground tube segments with a 12-ft diameter service tunnel running between them.
The entire bunker system was covered in a bombproof slab broken by a brick ventilation tower. Access tunnels extended under the Clubhouse and down Wentworth Drive toward the rail station. Wentworth’s top-secret Army camp housed, among others, General Bernard Montgomery’s 21st Army Group, which controlled most of the British, Canadian and American ground forces for the Allies' western invasion of Europe (Operation Overlord).
Explore:
Although this site had been on our list of potential explores some time, it was nearing the bottom and not one we'd spent much time looking into. However, by pure coincidence we happened to overhear a conversation which changed the aforementioned in an instant. As such, I can't really call this an explore, more of a 'at the right place at the right time' moment, which we couldn't let pass by. So off we went and within minutes were in.
Upon entry the steps lead gently down before turning to the right and into the bunker. This passageway then slopes down before rising up again and meeting the main passageway.
It can get a little wet halfway down the first chamber, especially after heavy downpour, but apart from that I'd say it's a pretty clean and interesting explore.
The only downsides being the repetitive side rooms, of which there are about 21, and when ascending towards the old main entrance the humidity rapidly increases substantially, thus proceeding to mist up lens' faster than they can be cleaned.
Onto the pics....
Emergency entrance stairway filled with loads of inconspicuous cave spiders! Not that I have any aversion to them, honest...
Passage leading to main chamber.
3.
4.
Main passageway
Ventilation ducts ran underneath the false floor in these ducts before exiting via high up vents in each rooms partitioning wall.
Bits of old concrete flooring and intact ventilation duct protruding from wall.
Contractors light. Guessing it was left prior to 2013 (before the company went into liquidation).
Sorry, couldn't help playing about with lighting, the layout was too tempting. My second ever attempt so apologies for the quality, it didn't come out quite how i wanted.
I believe blast doors would have been attached to these doorways.
11.
Entrance to one of the many side rooms.
Passage leading to old main entrance. At the end are stairs which would have linked the entrance to the club house via a walkway constructed with the same bricks as the house, as to avoid detection.
London Passenger Transport Board markings.
15.
Backfilled room.
17.
Thanks for looking.
History (Stolen from Wentworth Estate):
With the outbreak of World War II, Wentworth Estate was selected as an alternative seat of government and a rural command post, offering fewer security problems and more resources than the London Cabinet War Rooms. It is from here that the British government would have operated had it been forced to flee London during the blitzkrieg. Many of the large houses were requisitioned; the golf courses were changed so that enemy planes could not land there; and nearby Virginia Water Lake was drained to prevent its use as a navigation landmark by enemy pilots. A subterranean bunker and tunnel system, now sealed and covered by car parks, was built near the Clubhouse. It consisted of two 25-ft diameter parallel tunnels made from cast iron London Underground tube segments with a 12-ft diameter service tunnel running between them.
The entire bunker system was covered in a bombproof slab broken by a brick ventilation tower. Access tunnels extended under the Clubhouse and down Wentworth Drive toward the rail station. Wentworth’s top-secret Army camp housed, among others, General Bernard Montgomery’s 21st Army Group, which controlled most of the British, Canadian and American ground forces for the Allies' western invasion of Europe (Operation Overlord).
Explore:
Although this site had been on our list of potential explores some time, it was nearing the bottom and not one we'd spent much time looking into. However, by pure coincidence we happened to overhear a conversation which changed the aforementioned in an instant. As such, I can't really call this an explore, more of a 'at the right place at the right time' moment, which we couldn't let pass by. So off we went and within minutes were in.
Upon entry the steps lead gently down before turning to the right and into the bunker. This passageway then slopes down before rising up again and meeting the main passageway.
It can get a little wet halfway down the first chamber, especially after heavy downpour, but apart from that I'd say it's a pretty clean and interesting explore.
The only downsides being the repetitive side rooms, of which there are about 21, and when ascending towards the old main entrance the humidity rapidly increases substantially, thus proceeding to mist up lens' faster than they can be cleaned.
Onto the pics....
Emergency entrance stairway filled with loads of inconspicuous cave spiders! Not that I have any aversion to them, honest...
Passage leading to main chamber.
3.
4.
Main passageway
Ventilation ducts ran underneath the false floor in these ducts before exiting via high up vents in each rooms partitioning wall.
Bits of old concrete flooring and intact ventilation duct protruding from wall.
Contractors light. Guessing it was left prior to 2013 (before the company went into liquidation).
Sorry, couldn't help playing about with lighting, the layout was too tempting. My second ever attempt so apologies for the quality, it didn't come out quite how i wanted.
I believe blast doors would have been attached to these doorways.
11.
Entrance to one of the many side rooms.
Passage leading to old main entrance. At the end are stairs which would have linked the entrance to the club house via a walkway constructed with the same bricks as the house, as to avoid detection.
London Passenger Transport Board markings.
15.
Backfilled room.
17.
Thanks for looking.
