HeritageGateway - Home
Site Map
Text size: A A A
You are here: Home > > > > West Berkshire HER Result
West Berkshire HERPrintable version | About West Berkshire HER | Visit West Berkshire HER online...

West Berkshire HER logo

The West Berkshire Historic Environment Record (HER) is the primary index of the physical remains of past human activity in the unitary authority of West Berkshire Council. Limited elements of the West Berkshire HER are available online via the Heritage Gateway, therefore it is not suitable for use in desk-based studies associated with development, planning and land-use changes, and does not meet the requirements of paragraph 194 of the National Planning Policy Framework (2021: 56). Please read the important guidance on the use of the West Berkshire HER data. For these purposes and all other commercial enquiries, please contact the Archaeology team and complete our online HER enquiry form.



HER Number MWB22571
Record Type Building
Name Building C15, character area A10, AWE Aldermaston

Grid Reference SU 594 631
Map Sheet SU56SE
Parish Aldermaston, West Berkshire
Map:Show location on Streetmap

Summary

Unlisted laboratory building constructed in about 1955 in relation to the nuclear deterrent

Monument Type(s):

  • LABORATORY (Cold War to Early 21st century - 1946 AD to 2050 AD)

Full Description

Building C15, within character area A10, is located at the centre of the administration, research and development part of the AWE's Aldermaston site, which formed part of the original 1950s and early 1960s AWRE site <1>. It is connected by a brick and glazed corridor to C16 to which a third building, C24, was also connected to the north until 2005 or 2006.

It was built in around 1955 with two storeys and of red brick clad in profiled steel sheeting. The eastern side has a one storey extension along it, built of buff-coloured brick. The western side has several small structures and plant installations.

Both C15 and C16 were built to house equipment and laboratories for High Energy-Density Physics (HEDP) experiments in relation to designing a nuclear deterrent without underground testing. Two groups operated within C15: the Laser Diagnostic Group and the Target Fabrication group. This work now takes place in the ORION facility.

Level 2 building recording of this building was undertaken in March 2017 ahead of a proposal to demolish it <1>.

Sources and further reading

<01>AWE. 2017. Historic Building Record: C15 and C16. MER-891-000079. 2019 WBC Network. [Unpublished document / SWB149949]

Related Monuments

MWB16503Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) (Monument)
MWB22572Building C16, character area A10, AWE Aldermaston (Building)
MWB22573Site of building C24, character area A10, AWE Aldermaston (Monument)

Associated Excavations and Fieldwork

EWB1837Historic Building Record: C15 and C16 (Ref: MER-891-000079)