Wood Norton Hall
Wood Norton, is a Grade II listed stately home near Evesham, England. Built in the medieval era, it was the last home in England of the Duc d'Orleans, who claimed the throne of France. It was later a private school.
In 1939, with war just months away, the BBC bought the site so that it could relocate its operations away from London and the other urban centres in the event of hostilities. A number of temporary buildings were quickly erected around the historic house to provide an emergency broadcasting centre. [1]
A dozen studios were built, and by 1940 Wood Norton was one of the largest broadcasting centres in Europe with an average output of 1,300 programmes a week. For a while it was also a monitoring station. Linguists, many of them foreign nationals, were hired to listen in to broadcasts from Europe.
Many famous writers and publishers lived and worked there during the war, and Wood Norton was said to have been "the least bureaucratic set-up in BBC history".
After the war it became home to the BBC Engineering Training Department.
In 1966, and into the late 1960s, Bredon Wing was built as an addition, containing a 175 foot long nuclear fallout bunker beneath it [2] . A mast was constructed on top of the hill and was fitted with an SHF dish (microwave link) to Daventry radio station (referred to in 1975 cabinet papers released 30/12/05). Two VHF yagi aerials were fitted to receive Holme Moss and Llandrindod Wells. Later, another SHF link was fitted to Pebble Mill studios in Birmingham. This supplied quality TV to the Wood Norton technical training facilities since the terrestrial TV signal was so poor. It was all a bit daft, because even as late as 1979 the cables to/from this mast that ran down the hill to the main buildings, were supported on overhead poles. In the early 1980s new cables replaced them, protected in concrete ducts (same as those used alongside railways for signalling). The ducts were only just below the surface, all the way up the hill. Not much protection from a big blast !!
This bunker (known as PAWN - Protected Area Wood Norton) and mast, and many other installations, were referred to as "Deferred facilities" in the BBC. Few staff (perhaps only three) knew the full extent of these facilities, although several were asked if they objected to work supporting them. Each person would only be given a task that involved, say, just a few drawings or some tape machines. Staff that were involved were vetted by the MOD and had to sign the Official Secrets Act. Because of the threat of this act, few people today will talk about these facilities, even though the Cold War ended in the early 1990's. The "Deferred facilities" were modified many times during the years that followed. In the 1970's these facilities were extended and updated to provide a standby service known as the "Wartime Broadcasting Service".
The bunker underwent complete refurbishment in 1988, at a time of easing of tension in the Cold War. The lower level was opened up for student training. By that time the dish for the Pebble Mill link had been removed and was used at ground level as a satellite dish (for training).
Wood Norton Hall itself was a privately-owned hotel and conference centre, but closed down suddenly towards the end of 2005. The BBC retains its Broadcast Skills Training Centre in the extensive grounds.