Elveston AAOR and gun pits

[gingrove]

This was a surprise explore as I had no idea that the campsite that I had booked for the weekend had any interesting history, how wrong can you be? We arrived on Friday night and found a large concrete single story blockhouse with two protected doors and a ventilation stack on top. Talking to the locals and the owners wife everybody had a different idea of what the bunker was and what was inside, one version was that it was The local government controlpoint for Derbyshire with three floors underground all flooded. Another version was that there was a basement but that it had been sealed up due to "Health and safety" Try as I might I could not get any body to show me the inside so I'm sorry the pics are all external. There were also three gun emplacements remaining on the site that I found, two were octagonal with concrete walls about four feet high with earth piled up on the outside and the remains of what I took to be ready use magzines. The other was much larger and square with walls made of concrete blocks about six feet high this had the scars of four structures one on each wall and a small rectangular shelter at the entrance. Looking on on Sub Brit the Bunker was built in 1950 as the 5Group, 58 Brigade Anti Aircraft Operations Room to cover the Derby Gun Defence Area. (and just to make me feel better they didn't get in either!) Maybe it's a secret methamphetamine factory! Sorry about the quality of the photos I only had my phone and the weather could have been better!

The ventilation stack

The steel door was still well and truly locked

one side of the entrance was filled in with new blockwork

Small shelter at the entrace of the square emplacement

Walls of the square emplacement showing the demolished magazines

Remains of the smaller octagonal emplacements.

 

[skeleton key]

Now that's a nice additional result to your weekend
I just hope the lady of your life believes you lol
Cheers and thanx for posting

 

[outkast]

Thanks for posting, its rare for a AAOR to have a gun site nearby, the only other one I know of is at marsh farm in pitsea.

 

[flyboys90]

Tantalizing! who will be the first one in? thanks for sharing.

 

[TeeJF]

Bet you were cock a hoop finding that!

 

[cptpies]

Great find gingrove, I've got this one as removed on the edob because the emplacements are so overgrown on GE. The octagonal emplacements would have been for static guns and the square one probably added later for a mobile gun. There probably would have been two other octagonal emplacements and another square one arranged symmetrically with the existing ones, the command bunker would have been at the centre of the small loop road servicing the gun pits.

 

[leftorium]

Elvaston has been on my to do list for a while - the google streetcar seems to have taken a trip round the site so there were a few tantalising glimpses of concrete - there's even a caravan pitched in one of the pits http://goo.gl/maps/o7Z3

 

[gingrove]

Great find gingrove, I've got this one as removed on the edob because the emplacements are so overgrown on GE. The octagonal emplacements would have been for static guns and the square one probably added later for a mobile gun. There probably would have been two other octagonal emplacements and another square one arranged symmetrically with the existing ones, the command bunker would have been at the centre of the small loop road servicing the gun pits.

I was told that there was another concrete structure on one of the islands left when they dug out one of the fishing lakes but I could not find it, having said that I don't think that I even found all of the Lakes!I failed to get photographs of the other concrete building that sits at the end of the road to the loop road but it is single story with steel doors and window shutters with a metal ventilation or exhaust stack (now converted to a tackle and bait shop) there is also a brick building that looks to be of wartime vintage and may have been garage or gun shed.

 

[gingrove]

Elvaston has been on my to do list for a while - the google streetcar seems to have taken a trip round the site so there were a few tantalising glimpses of concrete - there's even a caravan pitched in one of the pits http://goo.gl/maps/o7Z3 )

I found this on the web from a few years ago and as I said SubBrit had no luck

http://www.rockhopper.freeserve.co.uk/elvaston.htm

 

[rockhopper]

Ah, i was just going to post that information but you've already linked to my web site

 

[gingrove]

Ah, i was just going to post that information but you've already linked to my web site

Sorry it didn't occur to me that you might be on DP as when I did a search for Elveston nothing came up! Glad that I found your web site you got some much better pictures than me and your write up on the site filled in a lot of holes. As you have met the owner do you think that it might be worth contacting him about a look inside or was he dead set against it?

 

[rockhopper]

It was a good few years ago when I saw him. He was very pleasant, invited me into his house for a cuppa but there was no way he was letting me into the bunker! He had massive issues with English Heritage if i remember rightly.

I'm actually glad its still there as he was talking about bulldozing it.

I have since seen photos from inside though and its totally burnt out.

No worries about the link, I haven't done anything to my site in years, its good to know people actually look at it!