Bawdsey Manor and the mouth of the River Deben aerial-14924955295

Bawdsey Manor stands at a prominent position at the mouth of the

River Deben The River Deben is a river in Suffolk rising to the west of Debenham, though a second, higher source runs south from the parish of Bedingfield. The river passes through Woodbridge, turning into a tidal estuary before entering the North Sea at Fe ...

close to the village of

Bawdsey Bawdsey is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, eastern England. Located on the other side of the river Deben from Felixstowe, it had an estimated population of 340 in 2007, reducing to 276 at the Census 2011. Bawdsey Manor is notable as the ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, England, about northeast of London. Built in 1886, it was enlarged in 1895 as the principal residence of Sir William Cuthbert Quilter. Requisitioned by the

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1958 ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and having been returned to the Quilter family after the war, it was purchased by the Air Ministry for £24,000 in 1936 to establish a new research station for developing the

Chain Home Chain Home, or CH for short, was the codename for the ring of coastal Early Warning radar stations built by the Royal Air Force (RAF) before and during the Second World War to detect and track aircraft. Initially known as RDF, and given the off ...

RDF (

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

) system.

RAF Bawdsey Royal Air Force Bawdsey or more simply RAF Bawdsey is a former Royal Air Force station situated on the eastern coast in Suffolk, England. Also known as Bawdsey Research Station (BRS), the first Chain Home radar station was built there, characte ...

was a base through the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

until the 1990s. The manor is now used by PGL for courses and children's holidays. There is a small museum in the radar transmitter block.

History

Quilter period: 1886 to 1936

Bawdsey Manor was built in 1886 and enlarged in 1895 by William Quilter who was an art collector, one of the founders of the

National Telephone Company The National Telephone Company (NTC) was a British telephone company from 1881 until 1911 which brought together smaller local companies in the early years of the telephone. Under the Telephone Transfer Act 1911 it was taken over by the General P ...

, and was

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Sudbury. He established a steam-powered chain ferry across the

in 1894 to access the nearest railway station at Felixstowe. It was known as the

Bawdsey Ferry The ferries in Suffolk are a series of local ferry services in the county of Suffolk in Eastern England. Most cross rivers within the county, and one connects Suffolk with Essex to the south. Bawdsey Ferry Bawdsey Ferry carries foot passenge ...

and ran until 1931. The ferry now operates using a motor-launch at weekends during the summer. Maude Marion Quilter (born about 1868) of Bawdsey Manor, daughter of Sir William Quilter, 1st Baronet, married Frederick Denny in 1888 and later had Horwood House as her country residence. It was at Bawdsey Manor that she knew of Harry Thrower, the father of the broadcaster and gardener

Percy Thrower Percy John Thrower (30 January 1913 – 18 March 1988) was a British gardener, horticulturist, Television presenter, broadcaster and writer born at Horwood House in the village of Little Horwood, Buckinghamshire. He became nationally known thr ...

, as he was a gardener there, it being his first gardening position. When Maude wanted a head gardener at Horwood House, she recruited Harry and he remained there for the rest of his life.

RAF Base: 1936 to 1990

In February 1936 research scientists, including

Robert Watson-Watt Sir Robert Alexander Watson Watt (13 April 1892 – 5 December 1973) was a Scottish pioneer of radio direction finding and radar technology. Watt began his career in radio physics with a job at the Met Office, where he began looking for accura ...

moved into the manor to begin research and development into

for practical military use and it became known as

. Stables and outbuildings were converted into workshops and wooden receiver towers and steel transmitter towers were built. Bawdsey was the Air Ministry's secret radar research establishment until this moved away on the outbreak of war in 1939. Most of the key radar scientists of the day, and the first generation of RAF and WAAF radar personnel, were trained there. From 1937 Bawdsey was operational as the first of the RDF (radar) Chain Home, and during World War II also acquired Chain Home Low and Coast Defence/Centimetric equipment for tracking enemy ships. It continued as a radar station through most of the Cold War. Demolition of the 10 towers began in the 1960s, and they all are now gone. Bawdsey Manor continued as an RAF base through the

and

Bloodhound The bloodhound is a large scent hound, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar and, since the Middle Ages, for tracking people. Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium, in French it is called, ''l ...

surface-to-air missiles were sited on the cliffs until the Bloodhound force ceased operations in 1990, when all the missiles were withdrawn to

RAF West Raynham Royal Air Force West Raynham or more simply RAF West Raynham is a former Royal Air Force station located west of West Raynham, Norfolk and southwest of Fakenham, Norfolk, England. The airfield opened during May 1939 and was used by RAF Bomb ...

. RAF Bawdsey was closed in 1991.

Since 1990

The Manor, grounds, and associated buildings were used from 1994 to 2016 to house Alexanders College, a boarding and day school for children from ages 11 to 18. The Transmitter Block is a museum, with limited opening hours, and was featured in the BBC ''

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

'' programme. The exhibit is known as "The Magic Ear", and is operated by the Bawdsey Radar Group.

2017

The property was sold to PGL Travel Ltd. and was opened for summer 2017.

References

External links

Bawdsey ManorBawdsey Radar Group – registered charityQuilter of Bawdsey ManorBawdsey Manor
{{Schools in Suffolk Country houses in Suffolk Suffolk Coastal Museums in Suffolk Military and war museums in England Telecommunications in World War II Telecommunications museums in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed buildings in Suffolk PGL centres