South Woodham Ferrers ROC Post (OPEN) & BAe Systems "Radar Hill" 07/12/11
Easy parking at the north side of the hill (Workhouse Lane)
51°39'32.9"N 0°35'54.5"E
Hatch was not locked but had bricks placed on top due to damage on the hinges and counterweight mechanism that caused the lid to pop open.
A message left by a previous ROC enthusiast:
Upon entering the post i was surprised by the condition, the cupboards and some basic equipment remained. Polystyrene insulation tiles were still on the walls but the beds and most of the electronics were missing. Battery selection box, lighting and timer (for lights) were still in place and the timer was still ticking.
There was lots of litter down there (and a china candle holder?) Some of it dated from 1990 - 2001, along with a school book (from the local school?)
The post was not at all flooded and the pump still seemed to be functional, the wooden floor was mostly intact too apart from around the entrance.
Coming back up the hatch
Other notes:
Damage to hatch (padlock loops broken off, right side hinge broken)
FSM sealed
Ventilation shaft in bad condition
RADAR HILL:
After the ROC we went onto Radar Hill (A still functioning radar test site owned by BAe systems, previously Marconi) which is visible when facing the inside of the open ROC hatch:
Google Maps
As soon as we arrived we were greeted by a fairly nice security guard who made sure we weren’t up to no good (and declined us a guided tour) and confirmed that radar hill was indeed intended for use as a testing site for military equipment
We did not take any photos but there are some fantastic ones here: tweakerzine.com - tweakerzine Resources and Information.
Easy parking at the north side of the hill (Workhouse Lane)
51°39'32.9"N 0°35'54.5"E
Hatch was not locked but had bricks placed on top due to damage on the hinges and counterweight mechanism that caused the lid to pop open.
A message left by a previous ROC enthusiast:
Upon entering the post i was surprised by the condition, the cupboards and some basic equipment remained. Polystyrene insulation tiles were still on the walls but the beds and most of the electronics were missing. Battery selection box, lighting and timer (for lights) were still in place and the timer was still ticking.
There was lots of litter down there (and a china candle holder?) Some of it dated from 1990 - 2001, along with a school book (from the local school?)
The post was not at all flooded and the pump still seemed to be functional, the wooden floor was mostly intact too apart from around the entrance.
Coming back up the hatch
Other notes:
Damage to hatch (padlock loops broken off, right side hinge broken)
FSM sealed
Ventilation shaft in bad condition
RADAR HILL:
After the ROC we went onto Radar Hill (A still functioning radar test site owned by BAe systems, previously Marconi) which is visible when facing the inside of the open ROC hatch:
Google Maps
As soon as we arrived we were greeted by a fairly nice security guard who made sure we weren’t up to no good (and declined us a guided tour) and confirmed that radar hill was indeed intended for use as a testing site for military equipment
We did not take any photos but there are some fantastic ones here: tweakerzine.com - tweakerzine Resources and Information.
