What appears to be a cottage in the Lincolnshire countryside is a disguised underground nuclear shelter.
What looks like an ordinary home would have become a British government nerve centre in the event of a nuclear war. The underground bunker has room for 130 people, a radio studio and an electricity generator that can withstand a nuclear blast.
While the bunker is underground and hidden from the public eye, there are some telltale signs of its existence. Four massive ventilation towers and a radio mast are visible above ground.
The entrance to the bunker has a massive steel plate door leading to a decontamination unit and a network of corridors to sleeping quarters. There are offices of state, a room for the BBC, a telephone exchange, and an electricity generator.
The one-time potential command centre, at Skendleby, near Spilsby, was designed to safeguard the lives of 130 of the most powerful people in Britain. The bunker was built in complete secrecy in 1953 during the height of the Cold War and is now up for sale.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 27 November 2000. The reporter is Anthony Murnane.
