Tag: shenstone

May 2nd – Following on from yesterday’s pillbox, I thought I’d visit a military relic of an altogether different stripe today. Shenstone ROC post is a small, self contained nuclear bunker, designed to hold three operators during a nuclear strike. Their duty would have been to take measurements of radioactivity, blast pressure, weather and air conditions after an attack, record them and report back to central control if possible. The people who trained for this quasi-military role were volunteers, usually ex-servicemen. In a nuclear attack, these men would retreat into this hole, and effectively wait to die of either radiation sickness or starvation.

The British countryside is peppered with these little-known facilities, now derelict after the disbanding of The Royal Observer Corps at the end of the cold war – there are posts locally at Harlaston, Rugeley and Queslett. This one is sealed with a concrete block after fears that it would be occupied by anti-motorway protestors during the construction of the M6 toll.

For more information, bang the term ‘Subterranea Britannica ROC’ into google. A fascinating, very british history.

May 1st – This house, on the corner of Hollyhill Lane and Footherley Lane near Shenstone has always captivated me. I love the gables and chimneys, and the general air of rural seclusion it conveys. When I was a kid, one would often see a real fire in the hearth on winter days through the french windows at the front. It always looked so warm and cosy.

April 28th – Shenstone is a neat and compact village built on the slopes of and around a central hill. On top of this hill stands the imposing structure of Shenstone Church, St. Johns. At this time in the spring, only one church tower is visible, but there are actually two – another, smaller ruined tower from an earlier church still stands, being gently carried to dust by the weather, in a corner of the churchyard.

April 25th – Chesterfield Lodge, a handsome, victorian house just round the corner from Chesterfield itself, in Raikes Lane – is an intriguing place. Now a secluded, tree-shrouded oasis of calm complete with large lake and tennis court, it was once a workhouse. I’ve not been able to find out much about it, but it just goes to show that many buildings have intriguing histories that we may be unaware of…

April 25th – Chesterfield is a lovely little hamlet, just south of the A5 between Wall and Shentone. Standing on the junction of Ashcroft and Raikes lanes, it’s a small, rural idyll where cows still hold up traffic and fascinating houses from several periods give the place an air of permanence and tranquility.

If I have time on my hands, I always take this route back from Lichfield. It’s quiet and beautiful.