Scheduled MonumentsEnglandMoD CORSHAM: GPO Telephone Exchange

MoD CORSHAM: GPO Telephone Exchange

England
List entry 1409129
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1409129
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.54 hectares
Grid reference
ST8495569205
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

MoD CORSHAM: GPO Telephone Exchange is a Cold War-era underground telecommunications facility located near Corsham in Wiltshire. Constructed during the 1960s, the exchange was built as part of civil defence preparations and served as a protected telephone switching centre designed to withstand nuclear attack. The facility comprises a substantial concrete bunker structure built beneath the surface, equipped to maintain essential communications infrastructure in the event of war. As a purpose-built telecommunications bunker from the height of Cold War tensions, it represents an important example of mid-twentieth-century defensive engineering and the state's investment in resilient communications networks during the nuclear age.

MoD CORSHAM: GPO Telephone Exchange is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1409129. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is MoD CORSHAM: GPO Telephone Exchange?

MoD CORSHAM: GPO Telephone Exchange is a Cold War-era underground telecommunications facility located near Corsham in Wiltshire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1409129.

Who is responsible for protecting MoD CORSHAM: GPO Telephone Exchange?

MoD CORSHAM: GPO Telephone Exchange is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1409129.

What other scheduled monuments are near MoD CORSHAM: GPO Telephone Exchange?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including MoD CORSHAM: Prime Minister's Rooms and Operations Rooms (0.2 km), MoD CORSHAM: Quarry Working Areas in West Lung, Spring Quarry (0.8 km), Three bowl barrows 160m south west of Hatt House (2.5 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about MoD CORSHAM: GPO Telephone Exchange

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of MoD CORSHAM: GPO Telephone Exchange's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under MoD CORSHAM: GPO Telephone Exchange

MoD CORSHAM: GPO Telephone Exchange stands on Great Oolite Group, bedrock that formed in the Bathonian. The rock here is sandstone, limestone and argillaceous rocks.