Hillhead, Radar Station, Transmitter Block

NJ96SW 30.01 9450 6165

The transmitter block is visible on post-war RAF vertical air photographs (V/RAF/882, 67-8, flown 30 March 1954) in the triangle of land between Hillhead and Whitewell farmsteadings. Four masts are situated immediately to the NE of this block.

Information from RCAHMS (DE), October 2002

The large reinforced and shuttered concrete building with an internal brick wall brick is situated in the middle of an arable field to the SE of the domestic area. It measures about 28.8m by 10.6m overall with an estimate height of 14m. The inner brick built block which housed the technical equipment, measures 24.5m by 7.4m, has a flat roof on which the remains of aerials could be seen. The main entrance is at the SW end, and this has been more recently enlarged to allow tractors to carry bales of straw/hay into the interior. The outer walls are in effect blast walls, though of much greater strength than those protecting doorways..

Further entrances were noted on the SE-and NW facing elevations whilst the NE-end has four large openings about half way up, through the outer concrete blast wall , with three small brick butresses on the lower section. One entrance through the outer SE-facing wall has steps and is of a reduced height with a square brick pillar immediately inside set at right angles to the door.

Some of the orginal fittings to the outside of the inner block survive including the remains of trunking for the air extraction, wooden doors and the flooring. The inside was not visited.

Visited by RCAHMS (DE, NG), 28 February 2008