Wood Norton, Worcestershire
Encyclopedia
Wood Norton Hall is a Grade II listed Victorian stately home
near Evesham, Worcestershire
, England. It was the last home in England of Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who claimed the throne of France. Used by the British Broadcasting Corporation
during World War II as a station for listening to enemy radio broadcasts and an emergency broadcasting centre, it became the accommodation for the BBC's engineering training college that grew up in its grounds. The BBC retained purpose-built facilities in the grounds for technical training after selling the Hall, which became a hotel. The hotel has now been bought and is currently being cleaned ready for opening in 2012.
Its position - hidden within acres of remote woodland on a hill facing south - made it ideal for official use in the event of war. In early 1939, the BBC bought the site so that it could relocate its operations away from London and other urban centres in the event of hostilities. A number of temporary buildings were quickly erected around the hall to provide an emergency broadcasting centre.
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.
It was the home of the BBC's Monitoring Service
The formal name was shortened to "BBC Monitoring" in the 1980s from August 1939 until early 1943, when Monitoring moved to Caversham Park
and Crowsley Park
, near Reading
. The move was made to release space at Wood Norton so that it could become the BBC's main broadcasting centre, should London have to be evacuated because of the threat from Germany's V-weapons.
A fire during the war destroyed the Hall's upper storeys.
After the war, Wood Norton became the home of the BBC Engineering Training Department. During the Cold War
it was designated as a broadcasting centre in the event of a nuclear attack.
bunker beneath it. A mast was constructed on top of the hill behind the hall and was fitted with an SHF
dish (microwave link) to Daventry
radio transmitting station (referred to in 1975 cabinet papers released 30 December 2005).
Two VHF yagi aerials
were fitted to receive signals from the transmitters at Holme Moss
and Llandrindod Wells
. Later, another SHF link was fitted to the Pebble Mill studios in Birmingham
, to provide reliable TV reception for the technical training facilities as the local terrestrial TV signal was poor.
The bunker (known as PAWN - Protected Area Wood Norton) and mast, and many other installations, were referred to as "deferred facilities" within the BBC. Few staff knew their full extent and those that did had to be vetted by the Ministry of Defence and sign the Official Secrets Act
(OSA). Some secrecy surrounds the bunker to this day.
The "deferred facilities" were modified many times over the years. In the 1970s they were extended and updated to be able to provide the "Wartime Broadcasting Service
".
Because of its convenience as a BBC facility, Wood Norton was used for some of the filming of the Doctor Who
serial Spearhead from Space
. It was later used for all of the location filming of the Robot
series of Doctor Who .
Under the leadership of Greg Dyke
and Resources director Mike Southgate, the BBC sold off the residential accommodation used by trainees, which had been built by the corporation 20 years previously.
Wood Norton Hall itself was a privately owned hotel and conference centre, but closed in 2005, reopening under new management the following year. The hotel finally ceased trading in 2010. The BBC retains its Technical and Operational Training Centre in the extensive grounds.
Stately home
A stately home is a "great country house". It is thus a palatial great house or in some cases an updated castle, located in the British Isles, mostly built between the mid-16th century and the early part of the 20th century, as well as converted abbeys and other church property...
near Evesham, Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, England. It was the last home in England of Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who claimed the throne of France. Used by the British Broadcasting Corporation
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
during World War II as a station for listening to enemy radio broadcasts and an emergency broadcasting centre, it became the accommodation for the BBC's engineering training college that grew up in its grounds. The BBC retained purpose-built facilities in the grounds for technical training after selling the Hall, which became a hotel. The hotel has now been bought and is currently being cleaned ready for opening in 2012.
History
The site of a dwelling since medieval times, Wood Norton was once the home of Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans (1869–1926), the last pretender to the throne of France.Its position - hidden within acres of remote woodland on a hill facing south - made it ideal for official use in the event of war. In early 1939, the BBC bought the site so that it could relocate its operations away from London and other urban centres in the event of hostilities. A number of temporary buildings were quickly erected around the hall to provide an emergency broadcasting centre.
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.
It was the home of the BBC's Monitoring Service
BBC Monitoring
BBC Monitoring is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation which monitors, and reports on, mass media worldwide. Based at Caversham Park in Caversham, Reading in southern England, it has a number of overseas bureaux including Moscow, Nairobi, Kiev, Baku, Tashkent, Cairo, Tbilisi, Yerevan...
The formal name was shortened to "BBC Monitoring" in the 1980s from August 1939 until early 1943, when Monitoring moved to Caversham Park
Caversham Park
Caversham Park is a Victorian stately home with parkland in the suburb of Caversham, on the outskirts of Reading, England. Historically it was in Oxfordshire, but since 1911 it has been in Berkshire.-Early History:...
and Crowsley Park
Crowsley Park
Crowsley Park is a 160-acre country estate in South Oxfordshire, central-southern England, owned by the British Broadcasting Corporation .- Overview :...
, near Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
. The move was made to release space at Wood Norton so that it could become the BBC's main broadcasting centre, should London have to be evacuated because of the threat from Germany's V-weapons.
A fire during the war destroyed the Hall's upper storeys.
After the war, Wood Norton became the home of the BBC Engineering Training Department. During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
it was designated as a broadcasting centre in the event of a nuclear attack.
The nuclear bunker
In 1966, and into the late 1960s, Bredon Wing was built as an addition to the training centre, containing a 175 feet (53.3 m) nuclear falloutNuclear fallout
Fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and shock wave have passed. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust and ash created when a nuclear weapon explodes...
bunker beneath it. A mast was constructed on top of the hill behind the hall and was fitted with an SHF
Super high frequency
Super high frequency refers to radio frequencies in the range of 3 GHz and 30 GHz. This band of frequencies is also known as the centimetre band or centimetre wave as the wavelengths range from ten to one centimetres....
dish (microwave link) to Daventry
Daventry
Daventry is a market town in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 22,367 .-Geography:The town is also the administrative centre of the larger Daventry district, which has a population of 71,838. The town is 77 miles north-northwest of London, 13.9 miles west of Northampton and 10.2...
radio transmitting station (referred to in 1975 cabinet papers released 30 December 2005).
Two VHF yagi aerials
Yagi antenna
A Yagi-Uda array, commonly known simply as a Yagi antenna, is a directional antenna consisting of a driven element and additional parasitic elements...
were fitted to receive signals from the transmitters at Holme Moss
Holme Moss
Holme Moss is a moor in the south Pennines of England, on the border between the High Peak District of Derbyshire and the West Yorkshire district of Kirklees. It is just inside the boundary of the Peak District National Park....
and Llandrindod Wells
Llandrindod Wells
Llandrindod Wells , colloquially known locally as "Llandod", is a town and community in Powys, within the historic boundaries of Radnorshire, mid Wales, United Kingdom. It was developed as a spa town in the 19th century, with a boom in the late 20th century as a centre of local government. Before...
. Later, another SHF link was fitted to the Pebble Mill studios in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, to provide reliable TV reception for the technical training facilities as the local terrestrial TV signal was poor.
The bunker (known as PAWN - Protected Area Wood Norton) and mast, and many other installations, were referred to as "deferred facilities" within the BBC. Few staff knew their full extent and those that did had to be vetted by the Ministry of Defence and sign the Official Secrets Act
Official Secrets Act
The Official Secrets Act is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India and Malaysia and formerly in New Zealand for legislation that provides for the protection of state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security.-United Kingdom:*The Official Secrets...
(OSA). Some secrecy surrounds the bunker to this day.
The "deferred facilities" were modified many times over the years. In the 1970s they were extended and updated to be able to provide the "Wartime Broadcasting Service
Wartime Broadcasting Service
The Wartime Broadcasting Service was a service of the BBC that was intended to broadcast in the United Kingdom either after a nuclear attack or if conventional bombing destroyed regular BBC facilities in a conventional war ....
".
BBC Academy
The estate has been the home of the BBC's Engineering Training Department since the war, now branded the BBC Academy. It is well known for the quality and depth of expertise in all aspects of broadcasting. Training is provided for technical and engineering staff from most UK broadcasters and telecommunications companies, with some sales of training overseas. Training staff run residential courses on-site, travel to deliver courses at other sites in the UK, and design interactive courses for use on the BBC's internal network.Because of its convenience as a BBC facility, Wood Norton was used for some of the filming of the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
serial Spearhead from Space
Spearhead from Space
Spearhead from Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 January to 24 January 1970. The serial opened Series 7 of the show and was the first to be produced in colour. The serial introduced Jon Pertwee as the...
. It was later used for all of the location filming of the Robot
Robot (Doctor Who)
Robot is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 28 December 1974 to 18 January 1975...
series of Doctor Who .
Under the leadership of Greg Dyke
Greg Dyke
Gregory "Greg" Dyke is a British media executive, journalist and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing 'tabloid' television to British broadcasting, and reviving the ratings of TV-am...
and Resources director Mike Southgate, the BBC sold off the residential accommodation used by trainees, which had been built by the corporation 20 years previously.
Wood Norton Hall itself was a privately owned hotel and conference centre, but closed in 2005, reopening under new management the following year. The hotel finally ceased trading in 2010. The BBC retains its Technical and Operational Training Centre in the extensive grounds.
Further reading
- Assigned to Listen - The Evesham Experience 1939-43, Olive Renier & Vladimir Rubinstein, BBC External Services 1986 ISBN 0563-205 083