10. POST-WAR BUILDINGS. Summary

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1 10. POST-WAR BUILDINGS Summary Bletchley Park was a highly sought after location in the post-war period, providing ready-made facilities in centrally-heated and modern buildings. As a result there was considerable competition for the site and immediately after the war the occupants included the Ministry of Labour, the General Post Office (GPO), the Local Education Authority, the Control Commission for Germany and a training section of GC&CS s successor body, GCHQ. One of its attractions, no doubt, was the fact the buildings were set amongst a landscape of trees and terraces, providing readymade recreational facilities (e.g.: tennis courts, woodland walks and the lake). Two of largest occupants in the post-war period were the General Post Office (GPO), later British Telecom, and a Teacher Training College. The latter, established as an Emergency College in the late 1940s, remained on site as a permanent College until the mid 1970s; for most of this time occupying Blocks A, B and E. The GPO/BT was the largest occupant of the site, using Blocks G, F and H as a regional training school from the 1940s until These two carried out most of the major alterations that survive. Evidence of the Navaid School, for example, has largely been removed, but the impact of BT can be more obviously felt: It demolished Block F and constructed a series of buildings in the 1980s for training and accommodation (Faulkner House, Clare House and Villiers House). The wartime sick bay remained in use until the 1980s when it was demolished, making way for Leon House. These buildings impacted on the south-east corner of the site. The Teacher Training College, by contrast constructed little, but shaped the character of the central area of the site to a certain extent. The College carried out minor external alterations to Blocks A, B and E, demolished Hut 7 and more radically altered the wartime Teleprinter Building, converting it into an Assembly Hall during the 1950s. It created the garden behind Block B, where Hut 7 had stood and constructed a series of unpretentious classrooms around the periphery of this area. Although these post-war buildings do not compare to the significance of the wartime structures, they demonstrate the mix of uses that the site was put to after the war and acting as a reminder that the Park was a highly sought after location for between 1946 and 1993 for business and education alike. ENGLISH HERITAGE BLETCHLEY PARK 620

2 10.1 HUT 12 (2 nd POSITION): EDUCATION HUT/GAMES ROOM (SP ) Summary Hut 12 stood to the east of Hut 3 from September 1941 until August 1942, when it was dismantled to make way for the new Teleprinter Extension. It was re-erected close to the site entrance in October In its first position its occupant was the Intelligence Exchange. In its second position it became the Education Hut. It is said to have been rebuilt as a games room in 1947, and is now used as an exhibition space. Historical Background Hut 12 was originally erected to the east of Hut 3 in September 1941 (for details, see under Hut 3). Its occupants, Nigel de Grey's Intelligence Exchange, had to move out in August 1942, as the building was about to be dismantled to make way for the new Teleprinter Extension. Although it no longer accommodated the Intelligence Exchange (which moved to Hut 3A), the building retained its name -- Hut when it was re-erected just inside the main entrance of the site, north of the cafeteria, in October By April 1943, the building was described as the Education Hut. It was subsequently used for chamber music classes and orchestral evenings by the Bletchley Park Music Society. Religious services for Roman Catholics and Christian Scientists were held regularly. Post-war uses are not known, but an unconfirmed report states that it was rebuilt in 1947 as a games room, for table tennis and snooker. 1 In recent years, the building has been refurbished for use as an exhibition space; it currently houses a temporary exhibition. The Building Hut 12 is a rectangular building of six bays. It has a steel portal frame and is clad in plasterboard on a wooden frame. The double-pitched roof is covered in felt. There are three entrances: one in the centre of each end wall, and a third in the east wall. The north entrance contains a part-glazed door and is sheltered by canopy. The east entrance is particularly wide and holds double doors. The heavily moulded wooden windows have three lights divided by a transom bar and contain casements. Inside, the hut comprises a single space, open to the apex of the roof (fig ). ENGLISH HERITAGE BLETCHLEY PARK 621

3 Figure Reconstructed Hut 12 from the north-east ( English Heritage MF00/0162/23) This is the only hut at Bletchley Park to have a steel portal frame, supporting the notion that it was reconstructed after the war. The braces are bolted to the posts through large metal plates. The refurbishment of the building as an exhibition room has involved the renewal of the plasterboard cladding, and complete redecoration. ENGLISH HERITAGE BLETCHLEY PARK 622

4 10.1 HUT 12: NOTES 1. Bletchley Park Trust Survey, Building No.2. ENGLISH HERITAGE BLETCHLEY PARK 623

5 10.2 CLARE HOUSE AND VILLIERS HOUSE (SP / SP ) Summary These two four-storey buildings were erected in 1971 as accommodation blocks for people attending GPO/British Telecom training courses and conferences. They are in a modern style, clad in concrete aggregate panels. Their T-shaped plans comprised three accommodation wings opening off a central entrance lobby. Figure Clare House from south ( English Heritage DP jpeg) ENGLISH HERITAGE BLETCHLEY PARK 624

6 Historical Background These two buildings are said to have been built in 1971, as accommodation blocks. 1 They have been disused since British Telecom withdrew from the site in Until 1971 a rectangular building of unknown function occupied the area on which the north range of Clare House now stands. General Description Situated close to the south-east corner of the site, and originally served by a car park (now overgrown) to their south-east, Clare House (fig ) and Villiers House are identical accommodation blocks. Each stands four storeys high and has a T-shaped plan. In each case, the main entrance is located in the centre of the north elevation, and comprises aluminium-framed doors approached through a low, open-sided canopy. The walls are clad in concrete aggregate panels, set with pebbles and framed by aluminium strips. The tall, narrow bays contain windows arranged singly or in pairs, with boarding beneath aluminium-framed glazing. Some windows, of regular size but with opaque glazing, probably light sanitary facilities. The roof is flat, with a corrugated metal water tank standing in the centre. Although the buildings were not entered, there is clearly a staircase in the inner bay of each wing, entered from a central lobby. Each floor of each wing appears to have a central corridor with a window (or, in the case of the ground floor, a doorway) at the end. There are no fire escapes. Each floor probably contains approximately nine or ten bedrooms as well as sanitary facilities. Both buildings are disused and boarded-up. Some windows have been broken, but the structures appear to be relatively sound. ENGLISH HERITAGE BLETCHLEY PARK 625

7 10.2 CLARE HOUSE AND VILLIERS HOUSE: NOTES 1. White 1998, 1. ENGLISH HERITAGE BLETCHLEY PARK 626

8 10.3 LEON HOUSE, BLETCHLEY PARK, BUCKS (SP ) Summary This two-storey accommodation block was erected on the site of the 1940s sick quarters in 1981 for executives of British Telecom, providing a higher standard of comfort than Clare House and Villiers House for those attending conferences and courses. It is currently disused. Historical Background Until 1981, this site was occupied by an L-shaped building which was used as sick quarters, latterly by the GPO/British Telecom. The sick quarters were built between October 1941 and April The present building, Leon House, was erected -- partially on the footings of the old building -- in 1981, to accommodate higher executives. 2 It appears to have been disused since the mid-1990s. Figure Leon House from south-west ( English Heritage DP jpeg) General Description This large building is located in the extreme south-east corner of the site, and is served by a car park on its south side. In plan, it comprises one long range aligned east-west, with a smaller range projecting south. It is two storeys high, and is clad ENGLISH HERITAGE BLETCHLEY PARK 627

9 in brown two-tone textured brick. The asymmetrical pitched roof has small vents along one side of the 'ridge', and is covered in slates, or tiles which resemble slates. On the north frontage, which presents itself to the Park, several of the windows occupy square, boxy projections, their sills corbelled out on stepped brick courses. All other windows, including those on the south elevation (fig ), are flush with the brickwork. The glazing is currently boarded over. The building has a number of entrances: one in the north elevation (corresponding to the position of the south range), two in the west gable wall, one in the south elevation, and one in the west side of the south range. Although the building was not entered, it seems likely that the interior is arranged with rooms opening off a long east-west corridor. The position of sanitary facilities is not evident, and it is possible that the rooms have en-suite facilities. The building is disused and boarded up, but it appears to be in sound condition. ENGLISH HERITAGE BLETCHLEY PARK 628

10 10.3 LEON HOUSE: NOTES 1. TNA:PRO HW 14/ White 1998, 4. ENGLISH HERITAGE BLETCHLEY PARK 629

11 10.4 TEACHER TRAINING CLASSROOMS (SP / / ) Summary Established as an Emergency Teacher Training College from 1948 to 1950, the Bletchley College was made permanent in 1950 and remained on site until During this period a series of building works were carried out. Most of these took place in the 1950s with the refurbishment of Blocks A, B and E and the alterations to the teleprinter building. However, with the development and expansion of the College additional classroom space was added in c.1960 on the north end of Block and this was further supplemented by two free-standing structures close to Block E between These three additions are all wooden framed and boarded structures. They surround an open space created in 1950 by the demolition of Hut 7, and stand within planting added to the perimeter of the College site between 1957 and The Block B classroom is unoccupied and falling into disrepair; the Block E classroom has undergone recent renovation and has been occupied by a small business since 2001, and the third hut to the north of the site has been occupied by the Sea Cadets since 2003, and who also carried out some renovation work. Historical Background An Emergency Teacher Training College was established at Bletchley Park in 1948 and ran for two years with 140 women students. In 1950 the College re-opened as a permanent training college with 50 students running two-year courses for the training of teachers of children and infants. 1 The college was accommodated in Block H and the WRNS canteen to the north-west of the site but during this period negotiated for possession (on a 21 year lease) of Blocks A and B. Work on Block B was carried out in 1950, 2 and then, once Block A became available alterations to convert it into college accommodation commenced. Difficulties with the building works, including the 1951 ban on starting dates for new building projects, meant that the planned timetable for completion, initially for January 1952 was delayed until September in order to coincide with the September 1952 intake of students; however this second deadline was also missed and was followed by a stern exchange of letters between the Education Authority and the MOW. 3 As a result the College agreed to run its course from January to December, commencing in January The College consolidated its accommodated with the occupation of Block E shortly afterwards, 4 and finally gave up Block H at the beginning of It continued to grow and develop, with the conversion of the war-time teleprinter building (adjacent to Block and until this time used as a cinema by the GPO) into an ENGLISH HERITAGE BLETCHLEY PARK 630

12 Assembly Hall and gymnasium in 1957 (see Teleprinter Building, section 8.5), at which time 119 students are recorded as registered. 6 The College now occupied an area in the middle of the Park which was consolidated covering the area between the road north of the lake and the road south of Block D. This included Hut 7, the mainly wooden wartime structure that had been the original home of the Hollerith Section. This building was condemned in 1950 and demolished shortly afterwards (see Hut 7, section 7.7). The aerial photography of 1954 shows that the hut had gone by this date and the area had been grassed over. By 1961 the north edge of this newly grassed site had been planted with trees and shrubs, presumably to delineate the boundary of the College and separate it visually from the government occupied Block D to the north. Extension Block E classroom Sea Cadets Hut Block E Block B classroom Assembly Hall Block A Block B Figure Detail of aerial photograph showing Teacher Training College site ( Crown Copyright. NMR. OS/6824/35) ENGLISH HERITAGE BLETCHLEY PARK 631

13 The continued development and expansion of the College is next seen by the construction of additional classrooms within this garden area. The first of these, probably constructed c.1960 and certainly before August 1961, 7 was erected immediately to the north of Block B with direct access from it. Subsequently two further free standing wooden block classrooms were built, one adjacent to the east wing of Block E and the other (now know as the Sea Cadets Hut) to the north of the garden area. The College had run under the headship of Dora Cohen from 1948 until 1965 and in 1966 a new head, Len Sealey took over. 8 It must have been during his time at the College (between 1966 and 1970) that these additional classrooms were built, as they are not in evidence on the June 1965 aerial of the site but have appeared by June They were positioned, so it seems, in order to retain the sense of a garden and open space in the centre of the college property where Hut 7 had been located. The College remained at the Park until Block B Classroom (SP ) Figure Block B classroom, view from south-west ( English Heritage DP jpeg) ENGLISH HERITAGE BLETCHLEY PARK 632

14 The earliest of the three classroom huts added by the College is situated directly to the north of Block B and is accessed from its northern spur. One side faces onto the road that separates Block B from Block C, and the other faces onto the central garden area of the College. It is entered both from the road side and directly from Block B through a link corridor. It is a wooden structure, both in frame and the vertical boards that clad it and it has a suspended timber floor sitting on small brick piers. Large opening wooden casement windows line its western wall, facing onto the garden (fig ), whilst the road side front is lit by high level small clerestory windows. Block E Classroom (SP ) This building is a rectangular wooden-framed building adjacent to the east wing of Block E and is approximately 30ft long and 20ft wide (fig ). Figure Block E classroom, view from east ( English Heritage DP jpeg) The wooden structure is erected upon a concrete base and comprises ten bays in length and has a slightly cambered asphalt covered roof. A porch exists on the west ENGLISH HERITAGE BLETCHLEY PARK 633

15 side projecting from the centre of the wall. This side wall (west) is not glazed, but the north, ease and western half of the southern walls are all glazed, with metal window frames, each alternating top-hinged opening lights and larger opening casements. In plan the building is entered from the western porch into a short central corridor, with one room to the south and two the north, and leads directly into a large room, occupying just over half of the entire floor area and is lit by windows on its north and east sides. This building is currently occupied by a Public Relations company, which moved in April 2001, having previously had accommodation on site in Faulkner House. Sea Cadets; Hut (SP ) Figure Sea Cadets Hut, view from south ( English Heritage DP jpeg) Situated at the northern edge of the Teacher Training College, the building faces south onto the small grassed garden area once occupied by Hut 7. It is constructed with a timber frame with timber cladding and sits on a brick foundation. It is 9 bays ENGLISH HERITAGE BLETCHLEY PARK 634

16 long, each bay containing two two-light windows, with wooden frames and separated by broad, flat wooden piers. The building is three bays deep and is covered by a flat asphalt-covered roof (fig ). In layout the building is currently set out with a central corridor running the length of the building with offices on each side, and has two entrances in its southern wall. The floor level of the hut is timber and suspended above the ground by the brick foundation and therefore steps lead to both these doorways. The building now houses the Sea Training Corps, and some refurbishment and redecorating was carried out in advance of its formal opening in March ENGLISH HERITAGE BLETCHLEY PARK 635

17 10.4 TEACHER TRAINING CLASSROOMS: NOTES 1. TNA:PRO ED 155/ See section 8.2 and figure TNA:PRO ED87/ See figure for postcard advertising site of College as proposed for TNA:PRO ED 155/ TNA:PRO ED 155/ See aerial photograph: NMR: 28 August 1961 RAF/543/1426 2F43 FR: White 1999, 15. ENGLISH HERITAGE BLETCHLEY PARK 636