RAF Portland ROTOR Radar Station
RAF Portland ROTOR Radar Station (also known as Portland CEW R1 ROTOR Station), is a former Royal Air Force radar station at East Cliff, in the north-east region of the island and south of the Verne Citadel. Built in 1950-51 as part of the UK's ROTOR programme, the station is now the home of the community farm and tourist attraction Fancy's Family Farm.
Today the Portland ROTOR Station is the last remaining example of its type. The station's vast underground control bunker, approximately 70 feet deep, still survives, and features large rooms cut out of the limestone. Surviving original features at ground level include an entrance gatehouse, the guardhouse (containing access to the underground bunker), six radar plinths and an emergency exit blockhouse. Later additions still in existence from the 1980s include a UHF building, a reservoir and a VHF DF Aerial tower.
In November 2004, the site was scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The grounds of the compound also forms part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), known as Nicodemus Heights, and has been designed a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
History
Establishment of and role as a ROTOR station (1950-1958)
Although the majority of Britain's radar stations and sites were decommissioned towards the end of World War II, the beginning of the Cold War soon sparked new defence requirements. The government developed the ROTOR programme in the early 1950s as an air defence radar system designed to counter a potential nuclear attack by Soviet bombers. During that period, a network of 54 ROTOR stations were built across the country, following the approval of the Air Council in 1950. One of the key features of the 'R' series ROTOR stations was the construction of underground control bunkers in 'high risk' areas. These stations were largely located on the east coast, from where it was believed a Soviet attack would be most likely. The entire ROTOR network cost approximately £240 million and would use up to 350,000 tons of concrete, 20,000 tons of steel, and thousands of miles of telephone and telex connections.
One of the chosen locations for a ROTOR station was a vacant site on the southern outskirts of the Verne Citadel on Portland. At the time, the citadel itself was home to a Royal Air Force-operated radar station, which had been established in 1942 as a Chain Home Extra Low (CHEL) station, known as K73. Equipped with three microwave radars of 41, 54 and 57 type, it provided the RAF with low coverage radar during World War II. The station remained in use after the war, but closed when the nearby ROTOR station became operational.
Construction of Portland's ROTOR station began in 1950 by the contractor Sir Robert McAlpine. As a 'high risk' area, the station's control bunker was built underground, from where it would be possible to control the radar installations and house up to 250 staff. The control bunker, completed in 1951, was one of the earliest to be finished in the UK. Although the site's overall construction was completed that year, its operational-readiness would be postponed due to delays in the arrival of radar equipment. The General Post Office began installation of equipment on 1 December 1951, and on 20 February 1953, the station was declared operational. It was then transferred to the Royal Air Force, under the command of Squadron Leader L. B. Noyes, A.F.C.
Portland's ROTOR station was given the unique codename 'NIB' and fell into the 'R1' series, which included seven other stations; Beachy Head, Bempton, Cold Hesledon, Inverbervie, St. Margarets, Trimingham and Ventnor. Portland's station was also one of eight Centimetric Early Warning (CEW) sites across the UK, which were set to be the first contact point with the enemy. Based on their radar installations, ROTOR stations would be classified as either Centrimetric Early Warning (CEW), Chain Home (CH), Chain Home Extra Low (CHEL), Ground Control Intercept (GCI) or Sector Operation Centres (SOC).
Initially, ROTOR largely operated using World War II systems including the various types of Chain Home radar and AMES Type 7 for plotting and interception control. This allowed ROTOR to become operational as quickly as possible, while work continued on a new microwave frequency radar, known as Type 80. The original radar equipment for ROTOR was known as 'Stage One' radars, of which Portland had seven installed, along with their associated equipment. Portland's radars included two Type 14 (Mk 8 and 9) plan-positioning radars, two Type 13 (Mk 6) radars, one Type 13 (Mk 7) height-finding radar and one Type 54 (Mk 3) low-level radar. They were all installed on concrete plinths or 25 feet gantries, except the Type 54 radar, which was mounted on a 200 feet tower. In addition to this, an American AN/FPS Type 3 radar was installed on the site and became operational in November 1953.
In 1953, the Type 80 radar became available, which resulted in a dramatic overhaul of the ROTOR network, with fewer radars required across the country. The new radar featured a significantly improved range and could also be used for plotting, thereby replacing the AMES Type 7 too. Furthermore, the UK's defence policy began focusing more on the rising threat of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM). As a result, many ROTOR stations became redundant and were replaced by Master Radar Stations using the new Type 80 radars. Of the eight 'R1' series stations, five were adapted and upgraded to operate the new radars. However, the stations at Portland, Cold Hesledon and Inverbervie were not upgraded and so retained their original designs and 'Phase 1' consoles.
A Type 10 IFF radar was installed at Portland's station sometime during May-August 1954, which replaced the role of the AN/FPS Type 3. The Type 10 radar enabled the station to begin full fighter interceptor trials in September of that year. Later in April 1956, the AN/FPS Type 3 radar was removed, and by June, the T13 and T14 radars had also been dismantled. Although the station was declared 'non-operational' on 17 June 1956, by September it was listed as being 'run down' but at 'CHEL readiness'. In 1957, the UK's defence policy began focusing more on using nuclear and guided weapons as deterrents, resulting in radar-use shifting from countering potential attack to protecting the country's nuclear deterrent. Portland's station was placed under care and maintenance in 1958, under the responsibility of 11 Group, and later in the year, it was declared non-operational for the final time.
Use by the USAF and later uses (1960s-1998)
Having fulfilled its role with the ROTOR programme, the station was occupied from the 1960s onwards by the United States Air Force (USAF). During their occupation there, they had a microwave relay station built on-site, which was linked to ACE High, a NATO radio communication system designed to provide a long-range communication service within the NATO chain of command. Nearby at Ringstead Bay in Weymouth, a USAF Troposcatter station was established in 1963 to provide a cross-channel relay link from the High Wycombe Atomic Joint Co-ordination Centre to various US nuclear forces in Spain, Morocco, Tripoli and further east. A total of four related microwave relay stations were built across the southern region of the UK, including the one at Portland. The Troposcatter station was decommissioned around 1970.
In 1961, the Portland station featured as the Edgecliff Military Establishment in the film The Damned, starring Oliver Reed and Shirley Anne Field, and released in 1963. In the plot, the establishment is under the command of a Dr. Bernard, who was involved in a top-secret Cold War project involving radioactive children, who were kept in an underground facility. Immune to the effects of radiation, the children were to be the only humans able to survive in the aftermath of a nuclear war.
Although it was never used by the USAF, the underground section of former ROTOR station suffered fire damage in 1969. After they vacated the site, HMS Osprey Saddle Club began using part of the grounds in conjunction with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) between approximately 1975-82. During the 1980s, a small section of the site became a UHF aerial farm, which resulted in the demolition of the USAF building and a new one built in its place. Around 1986, a VHF DF aerial on a 30 metre lattice tower was erected in the north-east corner of the site, along with a small building housing its radio equipment. Another part of the site was occupied by the MOD Police Dog Section around 1991 as part of HM Naval Base Portland. A set of five dog kennels and a dog handler's portakabin were erected early that year, while the former guardhouse building was used for administrative purposes. Both the aerial farm and the dog section remained active until around 1998.
Selling of the site (2001)
The MOD put the station up for sale by auction in October 2001. As part of the auction, two public open days were arranged, prompting the MOD to undertake some health and safety work within the control bunker. The lift and its adjacent stairs, as well as a set of emergency stairs, were removed, along with all wooden flooring. Having replaced the original access points, the MOD installed a caged vertical ladder as a new form of access to the bunker. The work, which cost £30,000, was soon criticised for being unnecessary and removing some of the site's historical features.
The local businessman Gary Nash purchased the site for £142,000. Over 60 people had turned up at the auction to place bids, which was held at the Hotel Prince Regent in Weymouth. Nash expressed interest in using the station as a camp or accommodation site for visitors, while later in 2005, he revealed he was involved in on-going discussions with English Heritage over the future of the site. However, Nash's plans did not materialise and the site was largely used as horse stables instead.
In May 2011, O2 UK Ltd received planning permission for the temporary installation of antennas and dishes onto the site's disused lattice tower. This was to provide improved coverage during the 2012 Summer Olympics. Vigilant Global began using the tower for their own telecommunication purposes from 2013.
Establishment of Fancy's Family Farm (2011-)
Fancy's Family Farm moved to the ROTOR site in June 2011. The community farm was established near Southwell in the summer of 2009 by Su and Jon Illsley, as a hobby to look after the island's only flock of rare breed Portland Sheep. The couple obtained a temporary grazing license from the Crown Estate and the site quickly became a popular community farm, home to a variety of animals such as pigs, goats and alpacas.
In 2010, disagreements over tenancy terms developed between Albion Stone, who had acquired the site in December 2009, and the Illsleys. After expressing concern over the farm's business case, Albion Stone negotiated a deal with a local farmer to use much of the land for growing crops. Although the new tenant offered Fancy's Farm a smaller portion of the site, along with continued access to the existing barn, the Illsleys felt this left them with too little space. Meanwhile, under the new tenancy arrangements, the public would no longer be allowed to visit the farm. A protest involving over 100 local people was held in November 2010 to show support for the farm, along with a fundraising day in February 2011, but failed negotiations later prompted Albion Stone to serve an eviction notice for 1 March 2011.
Fancy's Farm remained at its original site into the summer of 2011, due to the lambing season and lack of an alternative site. After appealing for landowners to come forward with a suitable plot of land on the island, negotiations with Portland Stone Firms Ltd allowed the farm to be relocated to the former ROTOR station. An agreement was made tenancy terms and the Illsleys began tidying up the site that summer, during which time the animals were relocated there too.
The former UHF Building was refurbished in 2011-12 for use as the farm's main centre of operations, providing classrooms, a kitchen, IT suite, workshop, office, function room and coffee shop. All essential work was completed at the site, including the erection of a barn, during the spring of 2012. The farm was opened on 1 April 2012. A two-day makeover at the farm was later carried out in October 2012 by Magna Housing, with assistance from the Weymouth Community Volunteers. Today, the community farm is one of Portland's most popular attractions. It remains home to the only flock of Portland Sheep on the island, while other animals include wallabies, goats, pigs, donkeys, Eriskay ponies, ducks, chickens and geese.
On 25 May 2013, a one-off opening of the control bunker allowed Sub Brit members to enter the underground area, with all proceeds going to the farm. The bunker was sealed and alarmed soon after due to copper thefts in previous years. Around the same time, it was revealed that the farm's owners were in process of preserving what is left underground and were in talks with English Heritage about the possibility of opening the bunker to the public in the future. Although the underground section remains sealed, the ground level features can be seen by the public.
Design
The ROTOR station was constructed within a fenced compound, containing approximately 12 acres of land.
At the site's entrance, on the western side, is the entrance guardhouse. It is a single-storey building, built of Portland stone and has a projecting porch at its front. From there, a single track leads to the guardroom, which is another single-storey building of Portland stone. It was designed to resemble a cricket pavilion, disguising its real function as the entrance to the underground control bunker. It has a curved facade and a projecting porch. The access to the bunker was unusual in comparison with most other ROTOR sites. While such bunkers were usually accessed by stairs and a sloping tunnel at the rear of the guardhouse, Portland's bunker was accessed by a lift, which had an iron stairwell encircling it. The emergency exit was of more conventional design; a stairway of two sections, which led to a rectangular, single-storey building within the compound. The same building also housed one of the site's main electrical transformers.
The underground control bunker is approximately 70 feet below ground level, making it the deepest ROTOR bunker in the UK. It was constructed with 10-foot-thick concrete outer walls, which were designed to withstand 2,000lb bombs. Containing all the radar equipment, operations generators and air conditioning equipment, the bunkers built at such ROTOR sites across the UK were some of the first structures in the country to be designed to accommodate computers.
The bunker was largely built under the 60-foot deep south-east ditch of the Verne Citadel, which is located just north of the ROTOR station. When the bunker was being constructed, the contractors excavated the base of the citadel's ditch. Once the construction work was completed, the bunker's concrete roof was covered with a 30-foot layer of rubble and earth. The bunker's interior network of rooms are set out across one level and include an operations room, tracking room, intercept recorder and a workshop. Areas were also made for GPO apparatus, air conditioning and gas filtration equipment, as well as cloakrooms, restrooms and a kitchen. The bunker's air conditioning system would have removed heat generated by the radar equipment. Cabling was installed throughout the bunker underneath the suspended flooring.
Originally, the compound had seven radar towers installed. To date, their gantry bases and plinths survive, as do the small buildings that once contained the turning mechanisms. The foundations of the AN/FPS Type 3 radar also survive. Another major feature on ground level is a large reservoir within the south-east region of the compound, which was built in the 1980s to supply water to HM Naval Base Portland. Within the ditch of the Verne Citadel, several features of the ROTOR station survive, including two vents, a set of pipes, an access box with phone cables, and a nearby manhole cover.
Aside from the main operational site, ROTOR stations across the UK were provided with a nearby domestic site for the accommodation of personnel, as well as a standby set house which held a reserve power supply. Both the domestic site and set house for Portland's station were located in Weston village.
Scheduled Status
In November 2004, the Portland ROTOR station became a scheduled monument. Of the 54 ROTOR stations built in the 1950s, Historic England recorded that only eight stations survive in the UK, adding that they: "serve to illustrate the different aspects of technological changes and developments throughout the Cold War."
The station was designated for the key reason that it is the only CEW ROTOR station to survive in a "largely complete and original condition" as it had not been adapted to accommodate the Type 80 radar. Another factor was group value; the station being located in an important area of strategic defence, with historic features such as the Verne Citadel being nearby.
Historic England summarised: "Above ground, ancillary structures such as the picket post and emergency exit are significant survivals, as both are intact and were uniquely faced in Portland stone in order to blend with the local landscape and to provide camouflage. These are further complemented by the presence of the guardroom and the foundations and gantries of the full set of radar towers which served the site and are also an unusual survival. Together with the underground bunker, these features form a uniquely complete survival."
In recent years, the site has been listed on Historic England's 'Heritage at Risk' register. Described as having "extensive significant problems", the site's overall condition has been recorded as declining. It has been reported that some areas of the control bunker have worsened in their condition, with some rooms suffering from dampness and flooding.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Aerial.Freeserve - G8HUL's Web Page - ROTOR Site at Portland - website page
2) Bunker Tours - Portland ROTOR - website page
3) Cold War Secret Nuclear Bunkers: The Passive Defence of the Western World During the Cold War - Nick McCamley - Pen & Sword Military - 2007 - ISBN: 978-1844155088 - book
4) Dorset Echo - various articles from the online archive from 2001 to 2012 - website page
5) Dorset for You - W&PBC - Planning Application Details - 11/00964/FUL (24 Feb 2012) - website page
6) Fancy's Family Farm - Official Website - News - website page
7) Frontline Dorset - A County at War 1939-45 - George Forty - Dorset Books - 1994 - ISBN: 978-1871164213 - page 45 - book
8) Historic England - Heritage at Risk Register - RAF Portland, site of Rotor early warning radar station, Portland - website page
9) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - RAF Portland, site of Rotor early warning radar station - website page
10) Nettleden - Portland ROTOR - Portland, Dorset - Bunker - website page
11) Outer Limits: The Filmgoers' Guide to the Great Science-fiction Films - Howard Hughes - I.B.Tauris - 2014 - ISBN: 978-1780761664 - page 112 - book
12) Pastscape - Chain Home Extra Low Station K73 - website page
13) Pastscape - Monument No. 1413234 - website page
14) Pastscape - RAF Portland - website page
15) Slogical Discovery - Portland CEW R1 ROTOR Radar Station ('NIB'): 815 Signals Unit - website page
16) Subterranea Britannica - Research Study Group: ACE High Communications System - Andy Emmerson - website page
17) Subterranea Britannica - Research Study Group: Portland CEW R1 ROTOR Radar Station ('NIB'): 815 Signals Unit - Mark Bennett/Nick Catford - website page
18) Subterranea Britannica - Special Events - website page
19) The Time Chamber - RAF Portland 'NIB' CEW R1 ROTOR Radar Station, Dorset - website page
20) The Urban Explorer - Portland ROTOR Bunker - website page
21) Wikipedia - ACE High - website page
22) Wikipedia - ROTOR - website page
Today the Portland ROTOR Station is the last remaining example of its type. The station's vast underground control bunker, approximately 70 feet deep, still survives, and features large rooms cut out of the limestone. Surviving original features at ground level include an entrance gatehouse, the guardhouse (containing access to the underground bunker), six radar plinths and an emergency exit blockhouse. Later additions still in existence from the 1980s include a UHF building, a reservoir and a VHF DF Aerial tower.
In November 2004, the site was scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The grounds of the compound also forms part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), known as Nicodemus Heights, and has been designed a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
History
Establishment of and role as a ROTOR station (1950-1958)
Although the majority of Britain's radar stations and sites were decommissioned towards the end of World War II, the beginning of the Cold War soon sparked new defence requirements. The government developed the ROTOR programme in the early 1950s as an air defence radar system designed to counter a potential nuclear attack by Soviet bombers. During that period, a network of 54 ROTOR stations were built across the country, following the approval of the Air Council in 1950. One of the key features of the 'R' series ROTOR stations was the construction of underground control bunkers in 'high risk' areas. These stations were largely located on the east coast, from where it was believed a Soviet attack would be most likely. The entire ROTOR network cost approximately £240 million and would use up to 350,000 tons of concrete, 20,000 tons of steel, and thousands of miles of telephone and telex connections.
One of the chosen locations for a ROTOR station was a vacant site on the southern outskirts of the Verne Citadel on Portland. At the time, the citadel itself was home to a Royal Air Force-operated radar station, which had been established in 1942 as a Chain Home Extra Low (CHEL) station, known as K73. Equipped with three microwave radars of 41, 54 and 57 type, it provided the RAF with low coverage radar during World War II. The station remained in use after the war, but closed when the nearby ROTOR station became operational.
Construction of Portland's ROTOR station began in 1950 by the contractor Sir Robert McAlpine. As a 'high risk' area, the station's control bunker was built underground, from where it would be possible to control the radar installations and house up to 250 staff. The control bunker, completed in 1951, was one of the earliest to be finished in the UK. Although the site's overall construction was completed that year, its operational-readiness would be postponed due to delays in the arrival of radar equipment. The General Post Office began installation of equipment on 1 December 1951, and on 20 February 1953, the station was declared operational. It was then transferred to the Royal Air Force, under the command of Squadron Leader L. B. Noyes, A.F.C.
Portland's ROTOR station was given the unique codename 'NIB' and fell into the 'R1' series, which included seven other stations; Beachy Head, Bempton, Cold Hesledon, Inverbervie, St. Margarets, Trimingham and Ventnor. Portland's station was also one of eight Centimetric Early Warning (CEW) sites across the UK, which were set to be the first contact point with the enemy. Based on their radar installations, ROTOR stations would be classified as either Centrimetric Early Warning (CEW), Chain Home (CH), Chain Home Extra Low (CHEL), Ground Control Intercept (GCI) or Sector Operation Centres (SOC).
Initially, ROTOR largely operated using World War II systems including the various types of Chain Home radar and AMES Type 7 for plotting and interception control. This allowed ROTOR to become operational as quickly as possible, while work continued on a new microwave frequency radar, known as Type 80. The original radar equipment for ROTOR was known as 'Stage One' radars, of which Portland had seven installed, along with their associated equipment. Portland's radars included two Type 14 (Mk 8 and 9) plan-positioning radars, two Type 13 (Mk 6) radars, one Type 13 (Mk 7) height-finding radar and one Type 54 (Mk 3) low-level radar. They were all installed on concrete plinths or 25 feet gantries, except the Type 54 radar, which was mounted on a 200 feet tower. In addition to this, an American AN/FPS Type 3 radar was installed on the site and became operational in November 1953.
In 1953, the Type 80 radar became available, which resulted in a dramatic overhaul of the ROTOR network, with fewer radars required across the country. The new radar featured a significantly improved range and could also be used for plotting, thereby replacing the AMES Type 7 too. Furthermore, the UK's defence policy began focusing more on the rising threat of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM). As a result, many ROTOR stations became redundant and were replaced by Master Radar Stations using the new Type 80 radars. Of the eight 'R1' series stations, five were adapted and upgraded to operate the new radars. However, the stations at Portland, Cold Hesledon and Inverbervie were not upgraded and so retained their original designs and 'Phase 1' consoles.
A Type 10 IFF radar was installed at Portland's station sometime during May-August 1954, which replaced the role of the AN/FPS Type 3. The Type 10 radar enabled the station to begin full fighter interceptor trials in September of that year. Later in April 1956, the AN/FPS Type 3 radar was removed, and by June, the T13 and T14 radars had also been dismantled. Although the station was declared 'non-operational' on 17 June 1956, by September it was listed as being 'run down' but at 'CHEL readiness'. In 1957, the UK's defence policy began focusing more on using nuclear and guided weapons as deterrents, resulting in radar-use shifting from countering potential attack to protecting the country's nuclear deterrent. Portland's station was placed under care and maintenance in 1958, under the responsibility of 11 Group, and later in the year, it was declared non-operational for the final time.
Use by the USAF and later uses (1960s-1998)
Having fulfilled its role with the ROTOR programme, the station was occupied from the 1960s onwards by the United States Air Force (USAF). During their occupation there, they had a microwave relay station built on-site, which was linked to ACE High, a NATO radio communication system designed to provide a long-range communication service within the NATO chain of command. Nearby at Ringstead Bay in Weymouth, a USAF Troposcatter station was established in 1963 to provide a cross-channel relay link from the High Wycombe Atomic Joint Co-ordination Centre to various US nuclear forces in Spain, Morocco, Tripoli and further east. A total of four related microwave relay stations were built across the southern region of the UK, including the one at Portland. The Troposcatter station was decommissioned around 1970.
In 1961, the Portland station featured as the Edgecliff Military Establishment in the film The Damned, starring Oliver Reed and Shirley Anne Field, and released in 1963. In the plot, the establishment is under the command of a Dr. Bernard, who was involved in a top-secret Cold War project involving radioactive children, who were kept in an underground facility. Immune to the effects of radiation, the children were to be the only humans able to survive in the aftermath of a nuclear war.
Although it was never used by the USAF, the underground section of former ROTOR station suffered fire damage in 1969. After they vacated the site, HMS Osprey Saddle Club began using part of the grounds in conjunction with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) between approximately 1975-82. During the 1980s, a small section of the site became a UHF aerial farm, which resulted in the demolition of the USAF building and a new one built in its place. Around 1986, a VHF DF aerial on a 30 metre lattice tower was erected in the north-east corner of the site, along with a small building housing its radio equipment. Another part of the site was occupied by the MOD Police Dog Section around 1991 as part of HM Naval Base Portland. A set of five dog kennels and a dog handler's portakabin were erected early that year, while the former guardhouse building was used for administrative purposes. Both the aerial farm and the dog section remained active until around 1998.
Selling of the site (2001)
The MOD put the station up for sale by auction in October 2001. As part of the auction, two public open days were arranged, prompting the MOD to undertake some health and safety work within the control bunker. The lift and its adjacent stairs, as well as a set of emergency stairs, were removed, along with all wooden flooring. Having replaced the original access points, the MOD installed a caged vertical ladder as a new form of access to the bunker. The work, which cost £30,000, was soon criticised for being unnecessary and removing some of the site's historical features.
The local businessman Gary Nash purchased the site for £142,000. Over 60 people had turned up at the auction to place bids, which was held at the Hotel Prince Regent in Weymouth. Nash expressed interest in using the station as a camp or accommodation site for visitors, while later in 2005, he revealed he was involved in on-going discussions with English Heritage over the future of the site. However, Nash's plans did not materialise and the site was largely used as horse stables instead.
In May 2011, O2 UK Ltd received planning permission for the temporary installation of antennas and dishes onto the site's disused lattice tower. This was to provide improved coverage during the 2012 Summer Olympics. Vigilant Global began using the tower for their own telecommunication purposes from 2013.
Establishment of Fancy's Family Farm (2011-)
Fancy's Family Farm moved to the ROTOR site in June 2011. The community farm was established near Southwell in the summer of 2009 by Su and Jon Illsley, as a hobby to look after the island's only flock of rare breed Portland Sheep. The couple obtained a temporary grazing license from the Crown Estate and the site quickly became a popular community farm, home to a variety of animals such as pigs, goats and alpacas.
In 2010, disagreements over tenancy terms developed between Albion Stone, who had acquired the site in December 2009, and the Illsleys. After expressing concern over the farm's business case, Albion Stone negotiated a deal with a local farmer to use much of the land for growing crops. Although the new tenant offered Fancy's Farm a smaller portion of the site, along with continued access to the existing barn, the Illsleys felt this left them with too little space. Meanwhile, under the new tenancy arrangements, the public would no longer be allowed to visit the farm. A protest involving over 100 local people was held in November 2010 to show support for the farm, along with a fundraising day in February 2011, but failed negotiations later prompted Albion Stone to serve an eviction notice for 1 March 2011.
Fancy's Farm remained at its original site into the summer of 2011, due to the lambing season and lack of an alternative site. After appealing for landowners to come forward with a suitable plot of land on the island, negotiations with Portland Stone Firms Ltd allowed the farm to be relocated to the former ROTOR station. An agreement was made tenancy terms and the Illsleys began tidying up the site that summer, during which time the animals were relocated there too.
The former UHF Building was refurbished in 2011-12 for use as the farm's main centre of operations, providing classrooms, a kitchen, IT suite, workshop, office, function room and coffee shop. All essential work was completed at the site, including the erection of a barn, during the spring of 2012. The farm was opened on 1 April 2012. A two-day makeover at the farm was later carried out in October 2012 by Magna Housing, with assistance from the Weymouth Community Volunteers. Today, the community farm is one of Portland's most popular attractions. It remains home to the only flock of Portland Sheep on the island, while other animals include wallabies, goats, pigs, donkeys, Eriskay ponies, ducks, chickens and geese.
On 25 May 2013, a one-off opening of the control bunker allowed Sub Brit members to enter the underground area, with all proceeds going to the farm. The bunker was sealed and alarmed soon after due to copper thefts in previous years. Around the same time, it was revealed that the farm's owners were in process of preserving what is left underground and were in talks with English Heritage about the possibility of opening the bunker to the public in the future. Although the underground section remains sealed, the ground level features can be seen by the public.
Design
The ROTOR station was constructed within a fenced compound, containing approximately 12 acres of land.
At the site's entrance, on the western side, is the entrance guardhouse. It is a single-storey building, built of Portland stone and has a projecting porch at its front. From there, a single track leads to the guardroom, which is another single-storey building of Portland stone. It was designed to resemble a cricket pavilion, disguising its real function as the entrance to the underground control bunker. It has a curved facade and a projecting porch. The access to the bunker was unusual in comparison with most other ROTOR sites. While such bunkers were usually accessed by stairs and a sloping tunnel at the rear of the guardhouse, Portland's bunker was accessed by a lift, which had an iron stairwell encircling it. The emergency exit was of more conventional design; a stairway of two sections, which led to a rectangular, single-storey building within the compound. The same building also housed one of the site's main electrical transformers.
The underground control bunker is approximately 70 feet below ground level, making it the deepest ROTOR bunker in the UK. It was constructed with 10-foot-thick concrete outer walls, which were designed to withstand 2,000lb bombs. Containing all the radar equipment, operations generators and air conditioning equipment, the bunkers built at such ROTOR sites across the UK were some of the first structures in the country to be designed to accommodate computers.
The bunker was largely built under the 60-foot deep south-east ditch of the Verne Citadel, which is located just north of the ROTOR station. When the bunker was being constructed, the contractors excavated the base of the citadel's ditch. Once the construction work was completed, the bunker's concrete roof was covered with a 30-foot layer of rubble and earth. The bunker's interior network of rooms are set out across one level and include an operations room, tracking room, intercept recorder and a workshop. Areas were also made for GPO apparatus, air conditioning and gas filtration equipment, as well as cloakrooms, restrooms and a kitchen. The bunker's air conditioning system would have removed heat generated by the radar equipment. Cabling was installed throughout the bunker underneath the suspended flooring.
Originally, the compound had seven radar towers installed. To date, their gantry bases and plinths survive, as do the small buildings that once contained the turning mechanisms. The foundations of the AN/FPS Type 3 radar also survive. Another major feature on ground level is a large reservoir within the south-east region of the compound, which was built in the 1980s to supply water to HM Naval Base Portland. Within the ditch of the Verne Citadel, several features of the ROTOR station survive, including two vents, a set of pipes, an access box with phone cables, and a nearby manhole cover.
Aside from the main operational site, ROTOR stations across the UK were provided with a nearby domestic site for the accommodation of personnel, as well as a standby set house which held a reserve power supply. Both the domestic site and set house for Portland's station were located in Weston village.
Scheduled Status
In November 2004, the Portland ROTOR station became a scheduled monument. Of the 54 ROTOR stations built in the 1950s, Historic England recorded that only eight stations survive in the UK, adding that they: "serve to illustrate the different aspects of technological changes and developments throughout the Cold War."
The station was designated for the key reason that it is the only CEW ROTOR station to survive in a "largely complete and original condition" as it had not been adapted to accommodate the Type 80 radar. Another factor was group value; the station being located in an important area of strategic defence, with historic features such as the Verne Citadel being nearby.
Historic England summarised: "Above ground, ancillary structures such as the picket post and emergency exit are significant survivals, as both are intact and were uniquely faced in Portland stone in order to blend with the local landscape and to provide camouflage. These are further complemented by the presence of the guardroom and the foundations and gantries of the full set of radar towers which served the site and are also an unusual survival. Together with the underground bunker, these features form a uniquely complete survival."
In recent years, the site has been listed on Historic England's 'Heritage at Risk' register. Described as having "extensive significant problems", the site's overall condition has been recorded as declining. It has been reported that some areas of the control bunker have worsened in their condition, with some rooms suffering from dampness and flooding.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Aerial.Freeserve - G8HUL's Web Page - ROTOR Site at Portland - website page
2) Bunker Tours - Portland ROTOR - website page
3) Cold War Secret Nuclear Bunkers: The Passive Defence of the Western World During the Cold War - Nick McCamley - Pen & Sword Military - 2007 - ISBN: 978-1844155088 - book
4) Dorset Echo - various articles from the online archive from 2001 to 2012 - website page
5) Dorset for You - W&PBC - Planning Application Details - 11/00964/FUL (24 Feb 2012) - website page
6) Fancy's Family Farm - Official Website - News - website page
7) Frontline Dorset - A County at War 1939-45 - George Forty - Dorset Books - 1994 - ISBN: 978-1871164213 - page 45 - book
8) Historic England - Heritage at Risk Register - RAF Portland, site of Rotor early warning radar station, Portland - website page
9) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - RAF Portland, site of Rotor early warning radar station - website page
10) Nettleden - Portland ROTOR - Portland, Dorset - Bunker - website page
11) Outer Limits: The Filmgoers' Guide to the Great Science-fiction Films - Howard Hughes - I.B.Tauris - 2014 - ISBN: 978-1780761664 - page 112 - book
12) Pastscape - Chain Home Extra Low Station K73 - website page
13) Pastscape - Monument No. 1413234 - website page
14) Pastscape - RAF Portland - website page
15) Slogical Discovery - Portland CEW R1 ROTOR Radar Station ('NIB'): 815 Signals Unit - website page
16) Subterranea Britannica - Research Study Group: ACE High Communications System - Andy Emmerson - website page
17) Subterranea Britannica - Research Study Group: Portland CEW R1 ROTOR Radar Station ('NIB'): 815 Signals Unit - Mark Bennett/Nick Catford - website page
18) Subterranea Britannica - Special Events - website page
19) The Time Chamber - RAF Portland 'NIB' CEW R1 ROTOR Radar Station, Dorset - website page
20) The Urban Explorer - Portland ROTOR Bunker - website page
21) Wikipedia - ACE High - website page
22) Wikipedia - ROTOR - website page
Gallery
These images can be enlarged by clicking on them. Some images have information attached to them, and to view this you can either enlarge the image or hover the mouse over each thumbnail.
For photographs of the underground section, click this link: Portland ROTOR Bunker
For photographs of the underground section, click this link: Portland ROTOR Bunker
