Radar building, Ravenscar

Summary

Part of the c.1941 Bent Riggs radar complex

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Description

Building 4 - A single storey, 3 cell building of reinforced concrete with a flat concrete roof. The walls have been strengthened by a series of thicker square columns built into the walls.

Interior: The building has a large central room flanked by two smaller rooms. There is a concrete floor throughout. All the internal walls are painted in the same way as seen in Building 2, ie orange/red paint at the base, pale yellow at the top and a thin neutral band through the middle. This also has the same series of wooden pegs in the walls suggesting something was fixed to the walls at this point. All the windows have blast shutters still in situ, which could be opened and fixed to the walls by hooks when required. Between the wall and ceiling on the long walls are a series of small triangular wooden blocks. There are also a series of small rectangular holes in the walls, just below the ceiling, with narrow timber frames. These seem to correspond to a number of ventilation grilles on the external walls. There are two internal doorways, neither of which has any evidence remaining of doors or door frames.

Entrance to the building is through the first room (east end). The doorway has half of a set of blast doors still in situ. This room has a large block of concrete beneath the window in the east facing wall. There was also a narrow set of wooden shelves in a narrow niche formed between the end wall and one of the thicker columns. In the wall between this room and the larger central room is a T-shaped hole above which, in the ceiling, is a round hole through to the roof. There are also a series of bolts in the ceiling. Presumably both of these elements were connected with the fixing of the radar mast to the roof of this building.

The third room (west end) has another doorway, this time with the blast doors intact.
All through the building there are various marks on the walls indicating the positions of cables etc.

Exterior: At the east end is an iron ladder, fixed to the roof, which rests on a brick base of three steps, each with a concrete top. On the roof is a series of bolts.

At the base of the building at this end is a wide concrete edging with a gully running through the centre. There is also a square concrete platform in front of this end of the building, slightly further down the slope.

Each window has a metal frame divided into two, each with four lights. The windows are hinged at the top and open from the bottom. Some wired glass is still in situ. There is also, between the outer metal frames and the inner blast shutters, a further timber frame in the windows. Over each of the doorways is a concrete drip mould.

This building is further down the slope than 1 and 2 and the ground has had to be dug out to some extent to provide a level surface. Because of this there is a set of concrete steps leading to the doorway at the west end of the building.

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