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Summary

Hope Cove (or Bolt Head) GCI (Ground Controlled Interception) radar station. GCI stations were developed by the Air Ministry from 1940 to detect, locate and track enemy aircraft and provide inland radar coverage of Britain. Hope Cove initially operated as a Mobile station. In May 1943 the site was upgraded to a Final station. In the early 1950s the site was upgraded as part of the Rotor programme to modernise the United Kingdom's radar defences. In the late 1950s the station was taken over by the Home Office and the bunker was turned into a Regional Seat of Government. It later became a Sub-Regional Control, Sub-Regional Headquarters and Regional Government Headquarters. Surface features surviving at the site include the R6 bunker and a Type 80 radar modulator building. The GCI is recorded on air photographs taken at intervals throughout its development and use.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1427493: Hope Cove Radar Station

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: 1308020
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX73NW/134

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• RADAR STATION (XVIII to XXI - 1751 AD to 2009 AD (Between))

Full description

Untitled Source (Aerial Photograph). SDV175726.

APH RAF/CPE/UK/1890/2023/(10/12/1946)/SMR 63/3.

Royal Air Force, 1944, RAF CT/89/541, RAF CT/89/541 3063 8-MAR-1944 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351409.

The GCI complex is visible as a range of structures.

Royal Air Force, 1946, CPE/UK 1890, 2023 (Aerial Photograph). SDV140289.

Site recorded on RAF 1946 AP. Extent plotted on SMR (APH). Other details: 63/3.

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/2105, RAF CPE/UK/2105 4121 28-MAY-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351151.

The GCI complex is visible as a range of structures.

Royal Air Force, 1954, RAF/58/1399, RAF 58/1399 0014 30-APR-1954 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351147.

The GCI complex is visible as a range of structures.

Royal Air Force, 1958, RAF/58/2555, RAF 58/2555 173 1-SEP-1958 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351423.

The GCI complex is visible as a range of structures.

Clamp, A., 1992, The Hope Cove Area During The Second World War 1939-1945, 15 (Monograph). SDV347575.

Hope Cove (or Bolt Head) GCI (Ground Controlled Interception) radar station. Originated as mobile station in early 1941 and in operation by March. Final site consisted of central operations block, stand-by generator house, water storage etc, sewage plant, barracks and outlying aerial and AMES (low level) radar plinths. Sketch plan of site given.

Dobinson, C. S., 2000, Acoustics and radar, Page(s) 78-104,174 (Report - non-specific). SDV325097.

Final site for Hope Cove 35G GCI station, reference dated 15 April 1942.
A Ground Controlled Interception station located at Hope Cove (SX 715 376), called site 35G. Ground Controlled Interception (GCI) radar stations were developed by the Air Ministry from 1940 to detect, locate and track enemy aircraft and provide inland radar coverage of Britain. The stations worked in cooperation with local Fighter Sectors that had Airborne Interception (AI) radar fitted in its aircraft to enable the crew to accurately home in on targets.
Hope Cove operated initially as a Mobile station and in May 1943 as a Final GCI station. Mobile stations comprised transmitter and receiver aerial arrays mounted on trailers spaced no more than 220ft (67.1
metres) apart, with equipment stored and operations carried out from trucks. Final GCI sites were AMES Type 7 stations that comprised a single rotating aerial array with transmitter equipment stored in an underground well beneath, a brick operations block, a standby set house for reserve power, and a guard hut for the site entrance. Some sites were provided with additional huts for offices and recreation rooms.

Winton, H. + Bowden, M., 2009, East Soar, Devon: Air Photo Assessment and Survey (Report - Survey). SDV351406.

The GCI is recorded on air photographs taken at intervals throughout its development and use. The plinths and masts of the World War II radars are recorded on 1940s air photographs and annotated on the 1945 Air Ministry plan. 1949 air photographs include a close up of part of the GCI and show a Type 7 radar which was retained at some stations and brought back into use during the Rotor period. Photographs taken in 1954 show the site adapted for use as part of the Rotor operation and included an R6 (semi-submerged) operations block as part of the technical site. 1954 vertical photograph record a mix of World War II and later buildings and includes a large number of radars, with rough tracks between. It is difficult to positively identify all the individual radar types on the photographs but the tower (and shadow) of the Type 54 can be seen on the northeast edge of the site and there would have been a mix of Types 13 and 14. By the end of 1958, the GCI was effectively closed and photographs taken in September 1958 show the site, including the Modulator building, in its final days. The site was mapped from aerial photographs as part of a survey of East Soar.

Passmore, M. + Passmore, A., 2011, Royal Air Force Air-Defence Radar Station and Home Office Establishment Hope Cove, 2-4 (Leaflet). SDV347317.

RAF Hope Cove was established as a ground control interception station during the Second World War, opening in 1941 when mobile equipment came into operation. By 1942 it was an intermediate station and in the following year a purpose-built brick and concrete reporting hall/operations block was set up, and other permanent structures built. Very little remains of the wartime station, which was disbanded in 1946, but in the 1950s a semi-submerged ground control interception operations block, known as an R6, was constructed. A modulator building for more powerfull equipment was also built, but this was never installed, and between 1957-8 the station became the RAF's School of Fighter Control. When the Fighter Schoo re-located the Home Office occupied the R6 structure and the site took on a civil defence role. During this period changes were made to the operations block and some of the early structures on the site were eventually demolished. The site is now privately owned. Other details: Photographs.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2013-2014, South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV351146.

All East Soar Air Photo Assessment and Survey (SDV351406) details were accessioned to the Devon HER as part of the South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Project. Transcriptions are from the East Soar project, identified using Historic England's MONARCH number.

Historic England, 2015, National Heritage List for England (National Heritage List for England). SDV358087.

Radar Station (Rotor) of 1952-4, later converted to a Regional Seat of Government (RSG). Designed by the Ministry of Works.
MATERIALS: it is built of reinforced concrete with 900mm thick walls. The interior floors are of teak.
PLAN: the principal semi-sunken structure is an R6 type. It is rectangular on plan with stairs at each end. Rooms are arranged at either side of a central corridor to each floor. The floors are subdivided into 28 rooms on each floor. The main two-storey operations room has an inserted mezzanine floor.
EXTERIOR: as it was designed to resist the effects of a 5 kiloton nuclear explosion there are no windows and the only openings in the structure are at each end of the ground floor with blast doors and lobbies. The roof is a flat concrete slab with a concrete parapet.
INTERIOR: a utilitarian interior lacking in decorative features but retaining fittings and fixtures from the Rotor (1950s) and RSG (1960s) phases, including a kitchen with serving hatches to segregated dining areas. The teak flooring is original to the first, Rotor phase, along with the air conditioning plant and cork-lined internal partition walls. There is also some signage from the Rotor phase. The stairs have metal balustrades with timber handrails.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: the square building to the south of the R6 operations block is the 1960s generator block and fuel tanks. The two generators are a 375kva Meadows unit (1950s) and 375kva Cummins (1990s). 200 metres to the north-west is the Type 80 ('Green Garlic') radar modulator building. It is single storey and comprises a square modulator room connected to a rectangular generator room via a covered corridor. An induction regular room and a store are attached to the modular room. It is constructed of concrete and is a contemporary Rotor structure, and a rare survival.
EXTENT OF DESIGNATION: special interest lies in the fabric of 1950s and 1960s date. All later fabric is not of special interest.
See website for full details.

Historic England, 22/05/2015, Hope Cove Radar Station, Former RAF Hope Cove radar station, near Salcombe, Devon (Correspondence). SDV358389.

The former radar site at RAF Hope Cove, Devon is recommended for listing at Grade II.
REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION
Hope Cove Radar Station, constructed in 1952-4 and converted to a Regional Seat of Government (RSG) in the late 1950s, near Salcombe, Devon is recommended for designation at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Rarity: a rare survival of a Rotor R6 operations block - only 5 were built to this two-storey semi-sunken design. The associated Type 80 radar building is also rare, as are intact Regional Seats of Government;
* Intactness: the structure is largely intact and its alterations mainly relate to its conversion to later government uses; however, these alterations are also of significance;
* Historic interest (Rotor): the ambitious scheme to modernise the United Kingdom’s radar defences, known as Rotor, is an important chapter in the story of our national defence and marked a major manufacturing effort to produce the necessary technological equipment;
* Historic Interest (Cold War): it marks the strategic transition in the post-war British Government’s appreciation of the effects of nuclear warfare, through the establishment of the Regional Seat of Government plan, and later schemes by the Home Office.
See advice report for full details.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV140289	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. CPE/UK 1890. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). 2023.
SDV175726	Aerial Photograph:
SDV325097	Report - non-specific: Dobinson, C. S.. 2000. Acoustics and radar. Twentieth Century Fortifications in England. VII. A4 Stapled + Digital. Page(s) 78-104,174.
SDV347317	Leaflet: Passmore, M. + Passmore, A.. 2011. Royal Air Force Air-Defence Radar Station and Home Office Establishment Hope Cove. A Brief Introduction to Twentieth Century Military and Civil Defence Archae. 38. A4 Folded + digital. 2-4.
SDV347575	Monograph: Clamp, A.. 1992. The Hope Cove Area During The Second World War 1939-1945. The Hope Cove Area During The Second World War 1939-1945. A4 Stapled. 15.
SDV351146	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2013-2014. South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV351147	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1954. RAF/58/1399. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF 58/1399 0014 30-APR-1954.
SDV351151	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1947. RAF/CPE/UK/2105. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF CPE/UK/2105 4121 28-MAY-1947.
SDV351406	Report - Survey: Winton, H. + Bowden, M.. 2009. East Soar, Devon: Air Photo Assessment and Survey. English Heritage. 50-2009. Digital + A4.
SDV351409	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1944. RAF CT/89/541. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF CT/89/541 3063 8-MAR-1944.
SDV351423	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1958. RAF/58/2555. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF 58/2555 173 1-SEP-1958.
SDV358087	National Heritage List for England: Historic England. 2015. National Heritage List for England. Website.
SDV358389	Correspondence: Historic England. 22/05/2015. Hope Cove Radar Station, Former RAF Hope Cove radar station, near Salcombe, Devon. Notification of Designation Decision. Digital.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6587 - Archaeological Assessment of Land between Bolt Heat and Bolt Tail
• EDV6127 - Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme (NMP) for South-West England - South Coast Devon (Ref: ACD618)

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