Llandaff Sub-Control Centre, Cardiff, Cardiff

History

Built 1953 by Cardiff County Borough Council (CBC) as a Civil Defence Sub-control centre, one of three buildings spread across Cardiff with a main control centre (on Allensbank Road) and two sub-control centres (this one at Insole Gardens and another at Penylan Observatory). The centres were designed by EC Roberts, the City Surveyor for Cardiff CBC. He was also responsible for the designs of Thornhill Crematorium (1954) and with the City Architect John Dryburgh, the Empire Pool in Cardiff (1956-8).

Volunteer civil defence organisations were established during WWII, largely in the form of the Air Raid Precautions (ARP) services. Most of the organisations were disbanded at the end of WWII in 1945 with some civil defence planning and other services continuing at a local level until 1948. During WW2, Insole Court was used for civil defence purposes, and included a brick built, flat roofed reporting centre (built 1942) and a nine bay civil defence garage in the grounds.

The Cold War, which developed between the western allies and the Soviet Union after World War II, had a major effect on both Britain's defence policy and wider society in general in the second half of the C20. Under the provisions of the 1948 Civil Defence Act and the 1949 Civil Defence (Public Protection) Regulations, local government authorities were empowered to appoint Civil Defence Committees and Corps (CDC), the former made up of local officials, and the latter of government employees and civilian volunteers. They were organised on a county basis and largely carried over the structure, staffing and equipment from the wartime organisation. In Wales this provided each of the 12 Counties and 3 County Boroughs (Swansea, Cardiff and Newport) with their own Civil Defence Corps.

Their role was to collect intelligence on the results of a hostile attack; control and coordinate responses to an attack; rescue; protection against the effects of nuclear, biological or chemical attack, and instruction and advice to the public. Initially, the co-ordination of these functions and the full-time emergency services in the event of attack would have been managed from the basements of existing council buildings such as town halls. Later, however, a small number of purpose-built protected structures were provided, such as the civil defence sub-control centre at Llandaff.

Russia first detonated an atomic bomb in August 1949. Further test detonations of increasing power and the successful detonation of the first true Soviet hydrogen bomb in 1955 (which was almost one hundred times as powerful as the weapon in their 1949 test) clearly illustrated that the threat posed by nuclear weapons should be taken very seriously. This growing threat of nuclear conflict in the post-war period lead to reorientation of training and equipment in the defence corps. The protection offered by the Cardiff Control centres was very rudimentary, lacking protection from gas attack and an air-lock to prevent radioactive contamination.

The main control centre is thought to have been built near the Allensbank Rd junction with Highfield Rd and was demolished between 1975 and 1982. The Penylan sub-control centre (or what is likely to have been the centre) is shown on 1950s OS mapping next to the Observatory on the same basic footprint as the surviving Insole centre and is now incorporated into a dwelling at 62 Cyncoed Road. The centre at Insole gardens first appears on the 1962 OS map of the area.

The Insole sub-control centre is reported to have been used initially by the National Fire Service (or Auxiliary Fire Service) before being passed over for CDC duties, dealing with the threat of international war. It was also used for local civil contingencies and was reportedly used for the coordination of local disaster relief. Its active role as part of the CDC ended with disbandment of the organisation in 1968. The building continued to be used for storage by Cardiff City Council until the early 1990s and has been unused since then to inspection in early 2021.

Exterior

Single storey rectangular building on E-W axis. Brick and concrete, projecting plinth, flat roof, roof level vents but otherwise featureless. Entrance on W end in slight projection, doorway recessed, door modern security replacement.

Interior

Entrance leads to timber door then small ante-room with messenger waiting room to right and ahead onto an axial corridor along the entire length of building. Rooms to either side of the corridor – operational rooms on right (S) side, support and plant rooms on left (N).

From the messenger waiting room the operational rooms comprise message room with timber acoustic cubicles, then large control room (now empty). Support and plant rooms comprise: plant room with generating equipment, ventilation plant, controls and switchgear installations intact, gents WC (urinals etc surviving), small kitchen (with Belfast sink, boiler and cupboards), ladies WC (toilets etc surviving), storeroom (originally ladies dormitory), dormitory with steel-framed double bunks, and at the end the liaison officer’s room.

4-panel timber doors survive throughout, various telephones and other original wall fixings, including air ventilation ducts and light switches, also survive. Operation rooms have interconnecting communication hatches in the dividing walls to allow communication between adjacent rooms.

Reasons for Listing

Included for its special architectural interest as a rare and unusual surviving example of a Civil Defence structure of the post-war period. It is important historically as a surviving element of infrastructure from the early period of organised civil preparedness, an activity with its origins in the turmoil of WWII and which has formed the basis of modern emergency planning and is still incorporated into local and national government functions in Wales. It demonstrates contemporary attitudes regarding the fears and planning for what a nuclear strike would entail for the civilian population. It survives in good condition, and its function and operation is legible.

External Links

Cadwr Listing

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.