Across the green folds of Devon, a set of wartime and Cold War places quietly keeps its record, though much of the country's memory of them has faded. From the airfield on the Blackdown Hills, once the only American naval land base in wartime Europe, to concrete rooms beneath courthouses and farmland, these structures tell how a rural county stood watch over the sea and the sky, and then over the possibility of nuclear fallout. Many now serve new purposes, sit behind private gates, or lie buried in fields, so whether they will be seen by future generations remains an open question.
Devon's Forgotten Cold War and WWII Sites: Airfields, Bunkers and Radar Stations Hidden Across the County
Some are tucked away in people's back gardens
Mark
Why does Dunkeswell stand out among these seven?
Mimi
It was the only US Naval land base in Europe in the Second World War, and it served the Battle of the Atlantic until 1945.
Mark
And Poltimore Park?
Mimi
It's Grade II listed, one of only two surface-type Royal Observer Corps Group HQs left in England. The other is in Shrewsbury.
Luke
Worth noting that the Torquay bunker's purpose is described as unclear. The idea that it sheltered court staff is the article's inference, not a confirmed fact.
Mark
So it's informed guesswork?
Luke
Yes. The design details are documented, such as blast doors, kitchens and water systems. The reason behind them isn't.
Mimi
The Exeter bunker detail comes from reports in 2011, so its present condition isn't known.
Luke
Right. Dunkeswell's bunker has blocked entrances, and Hartland's buildings are gone. Some of these you can't visit or verify today.
Mark
What ties them together?
Mimi
Warning, detection and shelter, first against Germany and then against the Soviet Union under ROTOR.
O Pulso
- A former American naval base on the Blackdown Hills has become a working private airfield, with its wartime bunker entrances now sealed.
- A Cold War monitoring headquarters near Exeter, built to track nuclear fallout, has been sold and turned into a paintball venue.
- A hidden 1956 bunker on private farmland north east of Exeter still holds its iron bunk beds, ladders and wiring, untouched for decades.
- Radar stations on the north coast and at Hope Cove, once guarding against German and later Soviet aircraft, now sit on common land or in a farmer's field.
- Many of these sites are being sold, repurposed or closed off, leaving their preservation and public access uncertain.
Across the green folds of Devon, a set of wartime and Cold War places quietly keeps its record, though much of the country's memory of them has faded. From the airfield on the Blackdown Hills, once the only American naval land base in wartime Europe, to concrete rooms beneath courthouses and farmland, these structures tell how a rural county stood watch over the sea and the sky, and then over the possibility of nuclear fallout. Many now serve new purposes, sit behind private gates, or lie buried in fields, so whether they will be seen by future generations remains an open question.
Dunkeswell Airfield sits on the Blackdown Hills, inside an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and carries a history few would guess. Between 1941 and 1945 it served as the base of the US Navy Fleet Air Wing and a strategic hub in the Battle of the Atlantic. When the Americans left, the RAF took over, and the military airfield closed in 1949. Today it is a private field with many aircraft permanently based there. Its original operations block and control tower survive, and a bunker on the edge of the site remains, though its entrances are blocked.
Dunkeswell is one of seven wartime and Cold War places that a recent survey of the county identifies. Some have been restored, some sit on private land, and some are tucked into back gardens. Near Exeter, a 1956 warning and monitoring bunker lies on private farmland, reported in 2011 to be still intact, with iron bunk beds, a ladder, wooden doors and cable runs. Nearby, Poltimore Park, completed in 1962, is a Grade II listed Royal Observer Corps headquarters, one of only two surface-type examples surviving in England. Its operations room, steel blast doors and radio mast remain largely unchanged, but the site was sold in 1999 and now hosts paintball.
On the north coast, RAF Hartland Point began in 1941 as a naval listening station tied to the Bletchley Park codebreakers, and later became a radar post in the wider coastal defence network. Its buildings are gone, but traces remain on common land open to walkers. In Plymouth, the Borough Control bunker, opened in 1943 beside Pounds House behind Central Park, ran the city's emergency control until 1963, when that role moved to Tavistock. Beneath Torquay Magistrates Court lies a concrete Cold War refuge with blast doors, kitchens and its own water system, which went on sale in 2018 for £500,000. Finally, the Hope Cove bunker, a radar station from 1941 later rebuilt to watch for Soviet aircraft, stands in a field near Salcombe.
Taken together, these places show how deeply the county was woven into the defence of Britain. Most are now sold, repurposed or closed off, and their future remains uncertain.
Dunkeswell Airfield sits on the Blackdown Hills, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and it carries a distinction few people would guess: it was the only US Naval land base in Europe during the Second World War. Construction ran from 1941 to June 1943, and the US Navy Fleet Air Wing was based there until 1945, using the field as a strategic operations hub in the Battle of the Atlantic. When the war in Europe ended, the Americans left and the RAF returned. The military airfield closed in 1949.
Today Dunkeswell is a private airfield with many planes permanently based there. The original operations block and control tower survive. A historic bunker lies on the edge of the site, though its entrances to the underground chamber are currently blocked.
Dunkeswell is one of seven sites from the Second World War and Cold War that a recent survey of the county picks out. Some have been refurbished, some sit on private land, and some are tucked away in people's back gardens. Near Exeter, a hidden bunker lies north east of the airfield on private farmland. It was built in 1956 to meet rising demand for a new warning and monitoring system to replace the old air-raid warning arrangements. Reports from 2011 said it was still intact, with its original iron bunk beds, iron ladder, wooden doors, light fittings and cable runs. The defence officer's room is the largest, with hatchways left and right leading to the messengers and runners room and the telephone exchange.
Also near Exeter, Poltimore Park, completed in 1962, is a Grade II listed building. It is one of only two surface-type Royal Observer Corps Group Headquarters surviving in England; the other is in Shrewsbury. The Corps' role was nuclear monitoring and reporting, helping the government warn the public to take cover from radioactive fallout. The building has had only limited renovation, so its original layout remains: the central operations room with its first-floor post plotters and tellers gallery, steel blast doors, a stand-by generator set, particulate filtration equipment, air conditioning plant and an external telescopic radio mast. The site was sold in September 1999 and is now a paintball venue.
On the north coast, RAF Hartland Point began in 1941 as a naval VHF intercept station linked to the Enigma code-breaking operation at Bletchley Park. In June 1942 it became part of a radar network covering the British coast against German air and naval threats. After the war it was held on care and maintenance until the early 1950s, then reactivated under the ROTOR programme as a Ground Control Intercept radar station. All its buildings have been cleared, but evidence of the station can still be seen on freely accessible common land.
In Plymouth, the Borough Control bunker opened in 1943 as a single-storey structure beside Pounds House, a council-owned property behind Central Park, north west of the city centre. The air raid precautions control centre closed at the end of the war, was reactivated as Borough Control in 1954, and served as Plymouth's main control until 1963, when the function moved to Abbottsfield Hall in Tavistock.
Beneath Torquay Magistrates Court lies a nuclear bunker built at the height of the Cold War. Why it was built is unclear. As a Ministry of Justice building, with memories of the first Cold War fresh, it was likely a refuge for staff under threat of attack. It is concrete-lined, with heavy steel blast doors meant to absorb a nuclear shock wave, and has its own toilets, two kitchens, heating and a water system, suggesting long occupation. It went on sale in 2018 for £500,000, with its living quarters then used for storage.
The last site is the Hope Cove bunker, built as a radar station in 1941 and active until 1945, helping nearby RAF Bolt Head track and intercept hostile aircraft crossing South Devon overnight. It was redeveloped in 1952 under ROTOR to intercept Soviet aircraft heading for the South Devon coast. It stands in a farmer's field of almost five acres near Salcombe and RAF Bolt Head. Many of these places are sold, repurposed or closed off, so their future preservation and public access remain uncertain.
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