It was built to survive a nuclear attack on Yorkshire – but the British weather has got the better of York’s Cold War Bunker.
The two-storey subterranean attraction is closed till further notice after recent heavy downpours led it to become partially flooded.
Experts from bunker owners English Heritage have moved to safeguard the collection within this scheduled monument.
A spokeswoman for English Heritage told us:
Our conservation experts swung into action with a full scale salvage operation to protect the collection.
We are currently undertaking exploratory works to see what the issues are and aim to get back open to visitors as soon as possible.
They hope to have finished an assessment of the damage and have an estimated date for reopening by the end of the week.
People should check the bunker web page for any updates. but for now we’re directing people to the website for further information.
A chilling monument
On Monument Close, off Acomb Road, the York Cold War Bunker was built in 1961 at the height of nuclear tensions between East and West.
It was designed as a nerve-centre to monitor fallout in the event of a nuclear attack.
The building could have supported 60 local volunteer members of the Royal Observer Corps, including a ten-man UK Warning and Monitoring Organisation scientific warning team. It remained in active service until the 1990s.
Opened as a tourist attraction in 2006, the bunker is English Heritage’s most modern property.
Video: New film shows royal visits to Yorkshire down the decades