- A Cold-War era nuclear bunker built in 1959 has sold at auction in Lincolnshire, England.
- The bunker went on sale with SDL auctions on November 24 and sold for £31,000, around R660,000.
- The bunker was built as part of a civil defense group’s nuclear plan and is accessible via a 4-metre ladder.
- For more stories, go to www.BusinessInsider.co.za.
A Cold-War era nuclear bunker located 4 metres underground in Lincolnshire, England, sold at auction last week.
The bunker went on sale with SDL Property Auctions and sold for £31,000, or about R660,000, according to the auctioneers’ website. It’s described on the site as an “opportunity to purchase a piece of post-war British History.”
The underground bunker, set in the remote English countryside, was built in 1959 and was designed to withstand a nuclear attack, per the website.
The small property can accommodate three people. It was originally built as part of the Royal Observer Corps, a UK civil defense group, Cold War initiative in the 1950s. Observers in the bunker could report on the nuclear devastation.
The quarters can only be accessed by climbing down a 4-metre ladder, which reveals the sleeping area fitted with telephone communication and radio lines.
The new buyer was not put off by the property’s dystopian history and believes it has the potential to be a unique destination for his weekend getaways.
Jim Demetriou, the national valuer at SDL Property Auctions, told Insider the buyer, who wishes to remain anonymous, wanted a “get away from it all” off-the-grid holiday home.
The bunker also comes with a caravan that can be used for an above-ground holiday home, but the buyer plans to replace it, Insider has been told.
According to Demetriou, the new owners also intend to open the bunker every year on October 1, which is Lincolnshire Day, for the public to explore this unique slice of British military history.
It was last owned by army veteran Mark College who told the Daily Mail he bought the historical nuclear bunker on eBay for £12,500, or around R266,000, in 2003.
“I think I bought it due to a bit of a midlife crisis. I thought, ‘that’s cool,’ and decided I wanted it,” he told the Mail.
“There’s also a red box telephone, so in the event of a nuclear attack, that’s the only phone that will work – not that there’ll be many phones left to call,” he said, per reports.
The former owner said he was selling the unique property because he had not visited it for years and added, “I’d like some cash to go on holiday.”
