Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/18/099

Address :
NI Regional War Room, 48 Mount Eden Park Belfast BT9 6RB

Townland:
Malone Upper

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
02/02/2018 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Store

Former Use
World War II Structures

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
147/9NW

IG Ref:
J3212 7021

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Single storey with basement, rectangular plan, plain utilitarian building constructed in concrete, with flat roof located on a corner site at the junction of Mount Eden Park and Malone Hill Park in the Malone area of South Belfast, an area composed of streets containing houses constructed mainly during the 1930s and post war eras. Mount Eden Park is located approximately halfway between the roundabout which demarcates the beginning of the Upper Malone Road and the junction of the Malone Road with Balmoral Avenue. The building was designed in 1952-53 by the Working Party on Civil Defence War Rooms as a Regional Government War Room. It was constructed with the intention of being capable of withstanding a nuclear attack. Constructed of thick in-situ concrete walls with blast doors (now replaced) at opposite ends (NW and SE). These doors lead out to an external semi circular concrete pad that may have functioned as a porch/blast wall area outside. The building was in use as a ‘War Room’ until the 1960s. Materials: Roof: Modern roofing membrane (edges only seen) Walls: Painted rough-cast concrete Doors: Sheet metal applied to metal fire doors RWGs: Painted Cast iron to NW, SW & SE, painted plastic to NE Painted rough-cast concrete walls with advanced painted concrete bullnose plinth, to all four sides. Flat roof overhangs walls on all sides by approximately 600mm. Soffit is painted, shuttered concrete. Fascia is clad in a proprietary metal product with metal studs to timber behind. Roof covering wraps over fascia to all edges. The roof-level elevation onto Mount Eden Park is clad with profiled metal sheeting, hiding three concrete box-shaped structures behind for plant/water tank. NW Elevation: Plain rectangular elevation with metal fire door to left side accessed via modern concrete ramp between concrete dwarf walls and recent painted tubular metal handrails. Plain opening with metal sheet applied to a metal fire door behind. External semi-circular in-situ concrete pad to ground in front of door and ramp. Painted cast iron downpipe with hopper located at approximate mid way point. No ornamentation. SW Elevation: Plain rectangular elevation without openings. Painted cast iron downpipe with hopper located at approximate mid way point. No ornamentation. SE Elevation: Plain rectangular elevation with metal fire door to right side accessed via two modern concrete steps to small landing between concrete dwarf walls and recent painted tubular metal handrails. Plain opening with metal sheet applied to a metal fire door behind. External semi-circular concrete pad to ground in front of door and ramp. Painted cast iron downpipe with hopper located at approximate mid way point. No ornamentation. NE Elevation: Plain rectangular elevation without openings. Painted plastic downpipe with hopper located at approximate mid way point. Vent pipe at extreme left side, extending to ground level, two further vent pipes to left side of downpipe and lagged pipe supported by metal brackets to right side of downpipe. Vertical profiled metal decking to roof level with flat roofed structures behind. No ornamentation. Setting: Located at the junction of Mount Eden Park and Malone Hill Park in the Malone area of South Belfast. The site is accessed through a pair of modern brick pillars with concrete caps with a pair of painted, galvanised metal gates composed of vertical bars. The site is roughly trapezoidal in shape and is bounded by mature hedges and trees to both Mount Eden Park (NE) and Malone Hill Park (NW & SW). The SE boundary is onto No 46 Mount Eden Park, a two storey detached dwelling, separated from the site by a post and wire fence. The SW boundary of the site is backed onto by Nos 41 & 43 Malone Hill Park, with a grass bank rising from behind the SW elevation to the rear boundary of mature trees, shrubs and timber fences. Within the site, the building is surrounded by a tarmac surface, concrete surface to semi-circular pad at NW & SE sides, concrete to ramp and steps.

Architects

Working Party on Civil Defence War Rooms

Historical Information

This building, constructed in 1952-53, was one of one of 13 Regional War Rooms established throughout the UK during the Cold War era. In the event of a nuclear attack, it was intended that local government would operate from such bunkers, which were designed to hold a staff of about 45 who would control their respective region and coordinate civil defence. This plan was predicated on the notion that such a war would consist of a long period (possibly years) of saturated bombing; however, it was soon after realised that the duration of a nuclear attack would be measured in days, but that the recovery would take years, and as such it soon became apparent that the regional war rooms network would not be suitable for a long drawn out recovery period ‘as they lacked the communication and scope for expansion to enable them to restore order to their much devastated region over a great period of time in isolation.’ By the later 1950s, therefore, a new plan was devised consisting of ‘Regional Seats of Government’ (RSG), larger structures able to hold a staff of around 300, with upgraded communications systems. As a result the Mount Eden Park facility was replaced in c.1958-59 by an RSG at Gough Barracks in Armagh City. From c.1962 the building was used in a more localised role as the Belfast Corporation Control, with six sub controls (the local civil defence equivalent) reporting to it. After 1968, with the disbandment of the Civil Defence Corps in the rest of the UK, it was mothballed. In the early 1980s, following another defence reorganistaion, the structure was reactivated as a Regional Government Headquarters (RGHQ), a position it held until 1990 when it was replaced by a new RGHQ at Ballymena. Since that time it has been used as a store by the Court Service. Most of the War Rooms were built to plans by the Working Party on Civil Defence War Rooms, which devised a scheme of roughly 6000sqft over two floors, 5ft thick walls and a reinforced concrete roof, all designed withstand a direct hit by a 500lb medium capacity bomb. Internally, the layout consisted of a central double-height map room with smaller rooms clustered around this, most of these opening off a relatively narrow corridor. The construction costs for each building was calculated to amount to £36,720 plus £29,840 for the plant. The building has been catalogued as part of the Defence Heritage Project - reference D-309. References – Online sources 1 "Nuclear Bunkers", Hansard, 6 March 1986 [Retrieved 17 July 2017] 2 http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/features/war_rooms/index.html [Retrieved 17 July 2017] 3 http://thetimechamber.co.uk/beta/sites/military/civil-defence-project [Retrieved 17 July 2017]

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

D. Plan Form F. Structural System G. Innovatory Qualities I. Quality and survival of Interior

Historic Interest

R. Age S. Authenticity T. Historic Importance V. Authorship Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance Z. Rarity W. Northern Ireland/International Interest

Evaluation

Single storey with basement, rectangular plan, plain utilitarian building constructed of concrete with flat roof, the building is located on a corner site at the junction of Mount Eden Park and Malone Hill Park in the Malone area of South Belfast, an area composed of streets containing houses constructed mainly during the 1930s and post war eras. The building was designed in 1952-53 by the Working Party on Civil Defence War Rooms as a Regional Government War Room. It was constructed with the intention of being capable of withstanding a nuclear attack and was in use until the mid 1960s. This was one of only 13 Regional War Rooms established throughout the UK at the start of the Cold War era. It is of functionally robust construction with extremely thick in-situ concrete walls - 1500mm thick to the perimeter - having had blast doors (now replaced) at opposite ends. Its layout consists of a perimeter of rooms with a central core. Currently in use as a storage facility, much original plan form still remains and of interest are the original self-contained mechanical ventilation system, original generator and associated controls and switches. It is recorded on the Defense Heritage Register. This rare building type is of national interest as an example of a standard design which is an architectural representation of the changing threats to national security during the Cold War period.

General Comments

Date of Survey

31 May 2017