St Leonard's Court Air Raid Shelter
A World War II air raid shelter located in St Leonard's Court, Mortlake, London.
It was built to protect the residents of the 1930s flats from the Blitz and V2 rockets during WW2. Planning permission for two basic rooms hidden below a layer of earth was sought in October 1939, just after the start of the war. The designs show that it would have accommodated up to 120 adults. Entry to the shelter is through a round turret and a steep flight of stairs. There were two basic rooms with benches running along the side, and four chemical toilets. Escape routes were positioned at each end.
The dormitory annex was built in 1940/41 and contained 48 bunks. According to an interview with a former tenant, the bunks were available to rent for the year at the cost of £7.
https://habitatsandheritage.org.uk/
5257 photos taken in March 2022 with a Sony a7R III and processed in Reality Capture.
Thank you to Emily Lunn and Stephen Fielding from Habitats and Heritage and to Shaun Lamplough for access.
It was built to protect the residents of the 1930s flats from the Blitz and V2 rockets during WW2. Planning permission for two basic rooms hidden below a layer of earth was sought in October 1939, just after the start of the war. The designs show that it would have accommodated up to 120 adults. Entry to the shelter is through a round turret and a steep flight of stairs. There were two basic rooms with benches running along the side, and four chemical toilets. Escape routes were positioned at each end.
The dormitory annex was built in 1940/41 and contained 48 bunks. According to an interview with a former tenant, the bunks were available to rent for the year at the cost of £7.
https://habitatsandheritage.org.uk/
5257 photos taken in March 2022 with a Sony a7R III and processed in Reality Capture.
Thank you to Emily Lunn and Stephen Fielding from Habitats and Heritage and to Shaun Lamplough for access.