Bawdsey Manor

Bawdsey Manor stands at a prominent position at the mouth of the River Deben close to the village of Bawdsey in Suffolk, England, about 74 miles (119 km) northeast of London. Built in 1886, it was enlarged in 1895 as the principal residence of Sir William Cuthbert Quilter. Requisitioned by the Devonshire Regiment during World War I and having been returned to the Quilter family after the war, it was purchased by the Air Ministry for £24,000 in 1936 to establish a new research station for developing the Chain Home RDF (radar) system.RAF Bawdsey was a base through the Cold War until the 1990s. The manor is now used for weddings and courses, and has a small museum in the Radar Transmitter Block.

History

Quilter period: 1886 to 1936

Bawdsey Manor was built in 1886 and enlarged in 1895 by William Quilter who was an art collector, one of the founders of the National Telephone Company and was Liberal/Liberal Unionist Member of Parliament for Sudbury. He established a steam-powered chain ferry across the River Deben in 1894 to access the nearest railway station at Felixstowe. It was known as the Bawdsey Ferry and ran until 1931. The ferry now operates using a motor-launch at weekends during the summer.

Bawdsey

Coordinates: 52°00′32″N 1°25′19″E / 52.009°N 1.422°E / 52.009; 1.422

Bawdsey is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, eastern England. Located near Felixstowe, it had an estimated population of 340 in 2007.

Bawdsey Manor is notable as the place where radar research took place early in World War II, before moving to Worth Matravers near Swanage in May 1940, and from there to Malvern, Worcestershire in 1942. Bawdsey had both Chain Home and Chain Home Low early warning radar stations during World War II.

The World War Two defences constructed around Bawdsey Point have been documented. They included a number of pillboxes, landmines and flame fougasse installations. The beaches were protected with extensive barriers of scaffolding.

Bawdsey Cliff SSSI

Bawdsey Cliff is a Site of Special Scientific Interest notified for its geological importance. It is 23.3 hectares (58 acres) in size and provides over 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) of exposed Gelasian (early Pleistocene) Red Crag, the most significant exposure of Red Crag in England.