Preservation/Conservation

Cold War defence structures vary from those designed to resist the most destructive forces created by man,to specialised research facilities and temporary structures designed for short term use.As more 20th century defence sites are protected they are raising many challenges about the philosophy and practicalities regarding their conservation.

For many very robust structures the simplest form of conservation is benign neglect,where the structures might be legally protected from demolition,but where they are effectively managed as modern ruins.This approach has been taken by the independent conservation body,the National Trust,at a late 1950s weapons testing site at Orford Ness,Suffolk.Here the salt laden coastal environment is hastening the corrosion of metal fittings,which will ultimately leave bare concrete test stands and the brick walls of the control centre.Visitors will be faced with a similar experience to that of a ruinous medieval castle,but also a place with new aesthetic values and an inspiration to contemporary artists(Wilson,2005).

Elsewhere,active conservation work has been carried out on an early 1950s atomic bomb store at former RAF Barnham,Suffolk.This facility was created to hold Britain's first atomic bomb,Blue Danube,which was about 8 metres in length and weighed around 10 tons.The total capacity of the site was 66 bombs,although it is believed that this number was never held here.The form of this site was very closely modelled around the maintenance requirements of this particular weapon,and when it was withdrawn from service in 1962,the site became obsolete.It was then sold and used as a mushroom farm and subsequently as a small industrial estate.The whole of the site is protected as a scheduled monument.The principal buildings comprise two large concrete framed stores that were used to house the bombs;a third store was lost in a fire.Surrounding these are 57 small buildings designed to hold either one or two plutonium cores.(https://www.daowen.com)

The site's perimeter was guarded by five watchtowers.Four have been repaired and,where needed,replacement fence posts and panels have been cast.The project highlighted the difficulty of obtaining relatively recent but obsolete fixtures such as searchlights and electrical fittings,as well as finding suitable alternatives for asbestos sheeting,gutters and pipes,and matching the tropical hardwoods used in the doors,where some of the woods are now defined as endangered species.

It's unlikely that a site such as this could become fully self-sustaining as a tourist attraction.In this case its future is best secured by maintaining small businesses within the larger buildings,which will support their on-going maintenance.Structures unsuitable for further use,such as the small plutonium core stores and watch towers,will be maintained as historic monuments.The ultimate aim of the work is to allow visitors to appreciate the original guarded approach to the site and the operations involved in maintaining the bomb.Some areas will remain in commercial use,while others will receive low level maintenance to encourage wildlife.