The Radar Rooms 1st Post

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A protected entrance to an historic place
A protected entrance to an historic place

I had intended to start this Blog during July 2021 which would have been the 80th anniversary for the opening of RAF (GCI) Ripperston and thereafter would have added a monthly update of activities, “All Our Yesterdays”, as they happened 80 years ago from my comprehensive records of RAF Ripperston. However, events took a turn, which along with the Covid lock downs had left us unable to reopen the heritage site due to social distancing requirements which were unachievable due to the narrow corridors within the buildings. Furthermore, with no revenue coming in we still had to fund the upkeep, constant repairs and heating costs, from our savings. In May/June 2021 we renamed the Project to “The Radar Rooms” and made the decision to adapt the existing accommodation into two self contained facilities and the remaining space into an Art Centre for workshops. This required considerable work & time to set up successfully.

We are now into our fourth year of successful bookings along with giving many families the experience of staying in unique 1940s atmospheric accommodation and with gaining a historic insight into how the RAF operated GCI Radar Stations. This valuable additional revenue has provided funding to continue with repairs, maintenance and to help with the huge energy costs.

To see our 1940’s accommodation go to the Officers’ Mess and the Officers’ Quarters.

Welcome to The Radar Rooms

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So what is this all about. So, you may have read already about The Radar Rooms, the Officers’ Mess & the Officers’ Quarters but unless you have read our History of Works page then you will have no idea of how this all came about.

The former GCI Radar station, RAF Ripperston, came with our house. How glib is that – well, yes, but it is the truth and we just did not know what it was.

During WWII
Early 2000
2020

  • On a wet & windy day, a few years after we had moved here, the front door bell rang and a very quiet, unassuming gentleman, asked if he could view our RAF buildings. He told us they were a ‘Top Secret’ Radar Station during WWII. His very smart suit became rather less smart as he wondered around the dirty, leaking and dilapidated buildings, fascinating us with his wonderful knowledge. At the time of the previous owner just a couple of years previous, the buildings were used as a Pig Farm & Kennels.
  • John’s fascination grew and as time passed he began to do more research into the buildings origin & history. We started a gradual repair programme – see History of Repairs
  • In 2015, following a four page spread in Pembrokeshire Life, we opened to the public for three months, with a Heritage Presentation/Guided Tour and a prestigious Art Exhibition by 56 Group Wales. Since then we have had many visitors. We have promoted the art of selected top Welsh Art Graduates along with stunning paintings by GAvA – Guild of Aviation artists. Always by appointment as the buildings are a very well used and loved part of our home, but always there for visitors to share this fascinating part of our history.
  • We continued to use the buildings ourselves as a fully integrated part of our home, for our hobbies, for the promotion of Welsh artists and for guided tours (which included John’s brilliant Radar presentation). We had visitors staying from all over the country, one from as far away as the USA, whose father was stationed here. RAF personnel, individuals with links to WWII radar and visiting artists all enjoyed the 1940’s atmosphere of the station and we were just about able to cover the costs of heating and maintenance from the generous donations we received.
  • Then came COVID. And somehow we had to save this amazing part of our history from returning to its former dilapidated state.

Our next post tells of how, by sharing our Radar Rooms as a 1940’s retreat, we are managing to do this.

Thank you very much for your interest.