Paddock is the codeword for an alternative Cabinet War Room

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

for Winston Churchill's

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

government, located at 109 Brook Road, Dollis Hill, northwest

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, NW2 7DZ; under a corner of the Post Office Research Station site. The name derives from the nearby Paddock Road NW2, in turn named after a nineteenth-century

stud farm A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word " stud" comes from the Old English ''stod'' meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, documentation ...

, the ''Willesden Paddocks'', situated nearby. The bombproof bunker was constructed underground from reinforced concrete in total secrecy in

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidde ...

, but only rarely used during the war, with only two meetings of the

War Cabinet A war cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war to efficiently and effectively conduct that war. It is usually a subset of the full executive cabinet of ministers, although it is quite common for a war cabinet to have senio ...

being held there. It was abandoned in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in No ...

.Subterranea Britannica It comprises some forty rooms on two floors, is semi-derelict, with original equipment abandoned and rusted, and a certain amount of water ingress which is kept at bay by an electric extraction pump. Paddock was used after World War II by the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

for research and development and by the Post Office Research Laboratories Sports and Social Club. Paddock lay unused from when the Post Office moved to Martlesham Heath (Suffolk) and vacated the site in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phil ...

, until

Network Homes Network Homes is a housing association operating in 36 local authorities across London, Hertfordshire, and the southeast of England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and ...

purchased the site (including Paddock) in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

. The bunker is now owned by Network Homes, an affordable

housing association In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, non-profit making organisations that provide low-cost " social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budget surplus is used to maintain existing housing and to help fi ...

which is responsible for the properties now occupying part of the former research station site above. It used to be open to the public two or three times a year, with free guided tours provided by volunteers from the Subterranea Britannica organisation. It featured on the Channel 5 programme
Underground Britain

References

External links

Comprehensive history and record of site visit
— at Subterranea Britannica

* ttps://www.NetworkHomes.org.uk/paddock/ Churchill's bunker- twice-yearly bunker open days, and a 'virtual tour', Network Homes
Location on Google StreetView
Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Brent Subterranean London Fortifications of London 1939 in London World War II sites in England Bunkers in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures completed in 1939 Military history of London {{WWII-stub

See also

References

External links