Atomic Weapons Research Establishment. Orford ... - English Heritage

Description
The former AWRE area on Orford Ness may conveniently be divided into two parts
to the north and south of the muddy creek of Stony Ditch (Figure 44). To the north is
the former flying field of the Royal Flying Corps station and the remains of its buildings
‘The Street’, which are set along a track to the north of Stony Ditch. To the south of the
creek is Orford Beach, until the arrival of AWRE this area was mainly used as bombing
range, although close to the southern bank of Stony Ditch were a number of explosives
magazines.
In addition to the facilities on Orford Ness, AWRE constructed the present Orford town
car park, which was equipped with a Cycle Shelter 157. On Orford Quay the National
Trust office originated as the establishment’s Clocking Station 156, AWRE also operated
a 7 ton crane on the end of the quay.
The Royal Flying Corps flying field and buildings
Orford Ness is accessed from Orford town quay by boat to a Jetty A1 at the northern
tip of the spit (Figure 45). To its south is a concrete ramp that allows vehicles to be
driven off a landing craft (Figure 14). Adjacent to the jetty a submarine cable was
laid to supply the establishment’s electrical power. At the quay are a small number of
buildings, including a concrete framed barn-like structure that was erected by AWRE as
a Bus Shelter 134. To the south of these buildings was the site of the early 1950s radar
station that was used to guide aircraft on their bombing tracks and to monitor the fall of
bombs. Its site is marked by an octagonal brick pier on which a Kinetheodolite 100 was
mounted (Figure 15). To their south were two features that were also probably used
by the ballistics range to plot the course of test devices, a Non Metallic Gantry 121/A50
and an Aerial Measurement Building 122/A7. From the jetty a track follows the south
shore of the River Ore from which two arms head south towards the old Royal Flying
Corps station. This track in part follows the line of the First World War tramway that
ran up to and along The Street. Close to the jetty one relic of this system is the former
Locomotive Shed 88. To the west the first road that is encountered was constructed by
AWRE in about 1960 and heads for the west end of The Street, while the second arm
heads to the establishment’s main gate.
About 1960, The Street was surrounded by a cranked concrete post, wire mesh and
barbed fence, enclosing just over 12 hectares (29.5acres). In 1971, at the end of AWRE’s
occupation this area comprised about 33 roofed buildings, most of which it had inherited
from former occupiers. When the National Trust acquired the site in 1993 many of the
buildings were in a derelict and dangerous condition and all but 16 were subsequnetly
demolished. Prior to demolition a plan of The Street was made and its buildings were
photographically recorded by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of
England. The results of this work are held by the National Monuments Record.
The buildings of The Street may be considered as two groups, west and east (Figures
46 and 47). The western group of buildings is laid out on a rectangular grid established
by the Royal Flying Corps and may slightly post-date the buildings to the east. At the
© ENGLISH HERITAGE
27
10 - 2009