The Coulsdon / Brighton Road deep shelter was built before or during WW2. The plan was to build 3 parallel longitudinal tunnels into the chalk hillside with 4 parallel lateral tunnels linking them.
The plan was never fully carried out with two of the longitudinal tunnels stopping in a sheer white face of chalk.
After the war the shelter was mothballed and lay empty until a firm that made precision lenses for telescopes took them over. The constant temperature was ideal for the processes involved and the long tunnels perfect for testing the focus of the lenses. Sadly the dampness and coldness was not conducive for the electrical sockets and precision machinery so the ever-inventive workers reverse wired a fridge so it would act as a dehumidifier and keep the condensation levels down.
Eventually the optical firm moved out and was replaced by a motor vehicle repair workshop. After some time they also moved out and the shelter was mothballed and sealed shut again.
Every now and again it gets opened up and you can go and mooch about the weird stuff left inside ranging from air-cooled VW engines and transaxles, tractor wheels, the reverse wired fridge, optical lens grinding equipment etc.
The plan was never fully carried out with two of the longitudinal tunnels stopping in a sheer white face of chalk.
After the war the shelter was mothballed and lay empty until a firm that made precision lenses for telescopes took them over. The constant temperature was ideal for the processes involved and the long tunnels perfect for testing the focus of the lenses. Sadly the dampness and coldness was not conducive for the electrical sockets and precision machinery so the ever-inventive workers reverse wired a fridge so it would act as a dehumidifier and keep the condensation levels down.
Eventually the optical firm moved out and was replaced by a motor vehicle repair workshop. After some time they also moved out and the shelter was mothballed and sealed shut again.
Every now and again it gets opened up and you can go and mooch about the weird stuff left inside ranging from air-cooled VW engines and transaxles, tractor wheels, the reverse wired fridge, optical lens grinding equipment etc.
Last edited by a moderator:
