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GOING UNDERGROUND

Britain’s secret underground city built to protect the government in a Cold War nuclear attack – with its own telephone switch board, bakery and electric buggies

The huge complex would have held 4,000 people in complete isolation for up to three months

A SECRET underground city for government figures to bunker down in if nuclear war broke out is still deep under British countryside - with more than 60 miles of subterranean roads, a lake and a bakery.

The huge complex could have held 4,000 people in complete isolation for up to three months if atomic bombs hit with electric buggies for transport and its own telephone switchboard.

The huge switchboard room in the underground city - thought to be one of the biggest of its kind
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The huge switchboard room in the underground city - thought to be one of the biggest of its kindCredit: MoD/Crown Copyright
The roads - said to stretch for more than 60 miles - were in a grid system with signposts
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 The roads - said to stretch for more than 60 miles - were in a grid system with signpostsCredit: MoD/Crown Copyright
The unused bunker city included accommodation for 4,000 people with running water and bathrooms
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The unused bunker city included accommodation for 4,000 people with running water and bathroomsCredit: MoD/Crown Copyright
Near the Wiltshire bunker is the town of Corsham - not far from Bath
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 Near the Wiltshire bunker is the town of Corsham - not far from BathCredit: google
The sprawling underground city was built near a town in Wiltshire in readiness for a Cold War
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The sprawling underground city was built near a town in Wiltshire in readiness for a Cold WarCredit: Google Maps
There was enough fuel set underground to keep generators running for three months
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There was enough fuel set underground to keep generators running for three monthsCredit: MoD/Crown Copyright
Fully functioning bathrooms were installed and ready for use should nuclear war break out
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Fully functioning bathrooms were installed and ready for use should nuclear war break outCredit: MoD/Crown Copyright
This was said to be the Prime Minister's private bathroom - should he have found himself locked underground after a nuclear attack
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This was said to be the Prime Minister's private bathroom - should he have found himself locked underground after a nuclear attackCredit: MoD/Crown Copyright

The site, code named Burlington, lies 100 feet beneath Corsham in Wiltshire, and was designed to be the site of emergency government war headquarters in the event of the Cold War.

It was built in the late 1950s and includes hospitals, canteens, kitchens and laundries, as well as offices and accommodation.

The enormous bunker was developed in a 240-acre abandoned quarry and could have housed the Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, the government and even the Royal Family.

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Every detail had been thought out should thousands of people need to escape any major conflict with the Soviet Union - there was even a BBC broadcasting studio to communicate with survivors.

Historian Nick Catford reported the kitchen and dining equipment included 225 canteen tables, 2,320 dinner plates, 2,320 tea cups, 1,152 tumblers and 11 tea trolleys.

An underground lake would provide drinking water and 12 fuel tanks would keep four generators running for up to three months.

An aerial shot of the site where the bunker is buried deep underground
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An aerial shot of the site where the bunker is buried deep undergroundCredit: google
The site was ready to go should 4,000 people need to move in if the Soviet Union attacked
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The site was ready to go should 4,000 people need to move in if the Soviet Union attackedCredit: MoD/Crown Copyright
The outside world would have been locked away as government figures worked on how to respond from a potentially devastating attack
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The outside world would have been locked away as government figures worked on how to respond from a potentially devastating attackCredit: MoD/Crown Copyright
Wires hang from the ceiling in the unused underground city - which was declassified in 2004 by the Ministry of Defence
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Wires hang from the ceiling in the unused underground city - which was declassified in 2004 by the Ministry of DefenceCredit: MoD/Crown Copyright
The site, built in a disused quarry, was designed to hold 4,000 people in the event of a nuclear attack
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The site, built in a disused quarry, was designed to hold 4,000 people in the event of a nuclear attackCredit: MoD/Crown Copyright
A telephone, still in plastic covering, has never been used but was in the huge bunker in readiness of war
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A telephone, still in plastic covering, has never been used but was in the huge bunker in readiness of warCredit: MoD/Crown Copyright

To keep things comfortable in the event of emergency use the air within the complex could also be heated to about 20 degrees.

As tensions rose between the West and the Soviet Union the reality of nuclear war became apparent and a contingency plan was made in Wiltshire.

Plans from 1955 assumed the UK would be hit by 132 atomic bombs in the event of war, with 35 targeting London.

Those bombs were expected to kill about 1.7 million people and injure another million, with housing and industry heavily affected.

As tensions rose between the West and the Soviet Union the reality of nuclear war became apparent
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As tensions rose between the West and the Soviet Union the reality of nuclear war became apparentCredit: MoD/Crown Copyright
Electric buggies were ready underground to carry around the government workers, and possibly the Royal Family
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Electric buggies were ready underground to carry around the government workers, and possibly the Royal FamilyCredit: MoD/Crown Copyright
The BBC even had a room to broadcast from to communicate with the survivors
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The BBC even had a room to broadcast from to communicate with the survivorsCredit: MoD/Crown Copyright
Graffiti has been left on the walls of the underground city which has never been lived in
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Graffiti has been left on the walls of the underground city which has never been lived inCredit: MoD/Crown Copyright
A brand new kitchen - still with labels on the handles - has never been used in the subterranean complex
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A brand new kitchen - still with labels on the handles - has never been used in the subterranean complexCredit: MoD/Crown Copyright
Pictures of the Queen, Princess Margaret and other famous faces have been left on the walls
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Pictures of the Queen, Princess Margaret and other famous faces have been left on the wallsCredit: MoD/Crown Copyright
A menu in the canteen underground was ready to inform diners of the food on during the three months in the underground city
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A menu in the canteen underground was ready to inform diners of the food on during the three months in the underground cityCredit: MoD/Crown Copyright

In 2004 a statement on the Ministry of Defence's website acknowledged the existence of the site and stated it had been declassified.

It said: "A formerly secret Government underground site near Corsham in Wiltshire, which was a potential relocation site for the Government in the event of a nuclear war, was declassified at the end of 2004."

The site was said to be maintained until 1991, when it became too expensive to keep maintaining.

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