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

on its northeast side that gave access to the control and monitoring room to the
southwest. This comprised two elements; a taller section to the northeast that housed
air conditioning plant, some of which survives, an entrance passage; toilet cubicles
and to its southwest a large open room with a suspended floor that housed the
monitoring equipment, of which a few metal cabinets survive. To protect the building
from any accidental explosions in Laboratory 1 its southwest side was protected by a
shingle traverse – a protective mound. In late 1963, or early 1964, the Control Room
was modified to serve the new Impact Facility F5/171 (see below) that was being
constructed to its northeast, it also suggests that experiments in Laboratory 1 may
have ceased by this date (RAF 58/6492 (F41) 0079 27 Aug 64). Alterations to the
Control Room included the bricking up of the open porch and the insertion of double
doors protected by a small projecting brick porch. Due to the change in direction for
flying debris a protective brick wall and concrete roof were built to protect the toilet
cubicles. Immediately to the northeast is a small brick Mess Room F8/130. This was
probably originally designed as a Store with a set of double doors facing the Control
Room F4 and windows on its northeast and southeast sides. Later the double door
opening was infilled in breeze block and the window opening on the southeast side was
used to create a single door. Internally, a white tile splashback survives on its northern
wall. Unlike the Control Room F4 no attempt was made to protect the building from
flying debris from Impact Facility F5. Similarly, to the south of the Messroom F8 was an
unprotected Camera Store 172 housed in a timber and asbestos caravan, no trace of
which remains.
Figure 27: Laboratory 3, F2 126/128, this laboratory was primarily used for the climatic testing of
nuclear weapons. (c) English Heritage
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10 - 2009