Credit: East Anglia Auction House
A preserved Cold War bunker will go under the hammer on 8 May in the Norfolk village of Dersingham, with a guide price of £20,000. And this rare structure may attract more than just military history enthusiasts.
Known as the Dersingham Royal Observer Corps (ROC) Post, the subterranean structure was built in 1957 as part of a network of observation posts across the UK, forming an early detection system in the event of a nuclear attack. The Dersingham bunker is located on the north-east side of Chalk Pit Road and has been privately owned since 1992.
The bunker was Post 12 of Group Six of bunkers in Norwich and, unlike many other Cold War bunkers across the country—which have become derelict or been demolished—the structure is extremely well preserved. It features a concrete Class A Orlit hut above ground, and a hidden underground chamber complex.
A 15-foot-long metal ladder descends from the surface hatch into the bunker, which comprises two subterranean rooms. The larger room was originally used for observation and sleeping quarters, while the smaller room contained a toilet. Minimal furnishings included metal-framed bunk beds, a folding table, canvas chairs, and a cupboard for storing rations. Just as importantly, it would have housed the Fixed Survey Meter, the Bomb Power Indicator, and the Ground Zero Indicator—essential equipment for monitoring the nuclear situation above ground.
Auction House East Anglia is organising the sale, and the bunker comes with 0.12 acres of land.
The listing states that the bunker ‘could be re-equipped to echo the post’s heyday and become a miniature museum, be reimagined as a special getaway for the new owner, or used as a pop-up campsite. The 28-day rule means that the land can be used for temporary stays for up to 28 days in a calendar year without planning permission being needed.’
Several of Britain’s remaining wartime bunkers have found second lives as offbeat holiday accommodations, such as Dorset’s Transmitter Bunker—a former radar station near Ringstead Bay, transformed by Lipton Plant Architects. Read more on that.
