Subterranean WW2 bunker holiday home Dorset, Chain Home radar system esidence, English architecture photos
Subterranean WW2 bunker holiday home Dorset, UK
13 July 2023
Design: Corstorphine & Wright Architects
Location: Dorset, southwest England, UK
Subterranean WW2 bunker transformed into holiday home Dorset

Dorset bunker photos by Will Scott
Subterranean WW2 bunker holiday home Dorset, England
A former WW2 bunker on the Dorset coast, once part of the ?Chain Home? radar system, has been transformed into an inconspicuous yet luxurious holiday home.
Located on a working dairy farm within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, this forgotten historical artefact has been brought back into use, recently opening its doors to guests.
After discovering a series of these abandoned, subterranean bunkers on their land, the client commissioned the architects to convert one into a functioning holiday letting.

The brief was to celebrate the enormous historical significance of the structure whilst ensuring a habitable and commercially viable space for the client. After becoming Grade II listed during the planning process, the designers worked closely with Conservation Officers and Heritage Consultants to develop a proposal which would fulfil both aspirations for the bunker.

Part of the ?Chain Home? Radar system during WW2, the bunker, along with several others on the clients? land, and a perimeter of aerial arrays dotted along the English coast, were designed to detect in...