RAF Rudloe Manor
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RAF Rudloe Manor, formerly RAF Box or Site 1 as it is also known was taken over by RAF Fighter Command in 1936.
Under Fighter Command RAF Rudloe Manor housed 10 Group which controlled figher aircraft protecting the west of England. Under it's control were 4 Sectors; RAF Filton, RAF St Eval, RAF Middle Wallop and RAF Pembrey.
Site 1 occupied Rudloe Manor itself with additional buildings being built nearby. It also housed the RAF Provost & Security unit's. Photo studios and dark rooms. The Operations room for wartime were in the Quarry Operations Centre underground.
Rudloe Manor also acted as Royal Observer Corps Western Area HQ from 1937. And was renamed Southern Area in 1953. The UKWMO continued to occupy the Operations Block until 1990 when their Sector HQ was co-located with ROC 12 Group Headquarters at Lansdown, near Bath.
Site 1 closed sometime in late 2000 and remained derelict untill 2001 when ASTAC moved into a few of the buildings to train Air Traffic Controllers.
The rest of the site still remains derelict and slowly deteriorating, although the manor itself is in good condition and is now Grade II listed.
Sadly there is no access to the underground sections at Rudloe and virtually no trace of its past, the only visible clues that remain to identify the place with its war time role is the various pill boxes that are still dotted around the site and its layout and style of buildings.
Its surprising to see that once one of the countrys most sensative military sites, now sits derelict and abandoned completely forgotten about.
The most interesting find I think we stumbled upon was the pill box that sits at the main gatehouse, which still had a heater inside for the sentry.
Although little actually remains inside any of the buildings now. Rudloe does leave and impression on you, the manor house is probably the best example and still has the dark room in its original color.
It still comes as a surprise that this place rarely gets explored? due to its history and location it does hold significent historical importance and is one of the best examples of military sites left in the country for being almost intact.
There are currently planning applications to transform the site, although the manor house itself will remain due to it now being a listed building.
