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Summary

In 1939 a luxurious air raid shelter was built in the grounds of Rainbow House. The six-roomed complex survives as an empty shell.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• AIR RAID SHELTER (World War II - 1939 AD (Between) to 1945 AD (Between))

Full description

Devon Live, 2020, UK's Poshest Bomb Shelter is Hidden Under a Well Known Devon Building (Website). SDV364775.

In 1939 Ella Rowcroft commissioned Torquay builder, Edwin Lee, to construct an air raid shelter on the site of a copse in the grounds of Rainbow House.
It was constructed of concrete with a steel and concrete reinforced roof on which was piled a two feet high row of sandbags. The entrance to the bunker was built near to the rear door of Rainbow so that Mrs Rowcroft could be pushed quickly across the narrow yard.
The whole structure was buried by more than 4.5m (15 feet) of earth, and was accessed by a lift which was operated by ropes and pulleys. The lift descended to a long narrow passage with three rooms on either side.
On the right were a dining room, bedroom and sitting room. On the left was the kitchen, a staff room and a control room which housed a transformer which, in emergencies, could switch the power from the mains to batteries. The shelter was equipped with an air filtration system, and with ornate furniture, central heating and a well-laid out kitchen. But the most remarkable feature about the bedroom were the imitation lattice windows which opened inwards to reveal stunning landscape paintings set back into the walls. They gave the illusion that the underground shelter looked out on the Devon countryside.
The main living area of the shelter was about 370 square metres (4,000 square feet) and could be sealed by two gas-tight doors at both ends of the passageway. At the far end, the corridor led to a boiler room and a rear exit.
The six-room underground complex is now just an empty shell. Its site is marked on the surface by a metal vent pipe, barely 1 metre (3 feet) high. The lift which once served it is gone and there is a 9 metre (30ft) shaft.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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