Radar at Aberystwyth

No doubt many of you are familiar with the Cold War-era rocket tracking station to the north of Constitution Hill and visible from the coastal path. Much smaller, dilapidated and far less impressive are a number of buildings, little more than small brick huts that once stretched from the top of Constitution Hill to the top of the Golf Course and down to Brynymor Road. These date from World War II and are, on examination, intriguing. No two are alike. All are on private land but can be viewed from nearby footpaths. The photographs here give an indication of what is to be seen at each site.  Two once stood on the top of Constitution Hill. These have since been demolished and only faint traces of their foundations can be seen near the Jubilee Beacon.  Following the track that leads to the Rocket Tracking Station two more huts are passed on the right. One with a flat, tarred roof and crumbling rendering is believed to be of cold-war era date. In the 1970s it had the appearance of having been far more recently maintained than its neighbours.  Dyfed Archaeological Trusts website indicates that this is an observation post that dates from 1957. The other, orientated SW-NE, is of red brick rendered with drab concrete and epitomises the construction method used for these huts. This is open on one end.  Brackets are in situ suggesting a pair of heavy doors once hung there. The interior has an oblong pit stretching halfway across the floor, parallel to the entrance. On the ceiling directly above this are remnants of grooved wooden battens, suggesting apparatus that ran from floor to ceiling. There is also a concrete slab corresponding to the size of the pit nearby. This hut has a sloping concrete roof - most of the other buildings in the sequence have roofs of corrugated asbestos sheets. Between these two huts is a square concrete plinth, purpose unknown.

(Above) steel supports for one of the radar masts. The brick footings are hidden by the vegetation. The brick wall is part of the 1957 Observation Hut, possibly a precursor to the present day Radar Tracking Station. 

Portion of a photograph showing the two radar masts on Constitution Hill. Note the two small buildings (long since demolished) on the skyline in the centre of the photo.

Visible to the north of these aforementioned huts can be seen another hut. This is in the middle of a field behind the Rocket Tracking Station. It is an austere, windowless hut, again red brick with a drab concrete rendering and a popular nesting site for swallows.   This hut is divided into two separate rooms accessible by two separate doors. The larger room, protected by a blast wall has a fuse box suggesting that it had electricity. No less than seven sets of trunking lead out of the box suggesting a great deal of activity took place here. The exterior wall facing SW has an array of narrow slits suggesting that a grid of sorts was mounted there. The smaller room has a raised concrete platform in the centre, possibly for mounting a generator. 

Standing in a field near the present day Rocket Tracking Station is this hut. On the right is the area assumed to have housed a generator. On the left, entered via a blast protected entrance, is a windowless room possibly used to analyse incoming information from the two receiving masts.

Looking to the south west from here can be seen the silhouette of another hut with a commanding view of the surrounding landscape. Next to a trig point at a height of 145 metres the spot has a 360 degree view, ideal for an Observation Post. Stepping inside through the blast protected entrance one is in an unroofed octagonal observation chamber. In the middle is an iron pillar, probably used to mount a telescope or rangefinder. In my youth this was a popular destination for walks. On each of the sides of the octagon was a narrow piece of wood, painted green onto which the directions of the compass – NW, N, NE, E etc had been stencilled. On the left of the observation chamber steps lead down to basic living accommodation. This must have been so basic that another small room was added furnished with a small stove. Adding to the interest of this location is a piece of ground behind the hut, light green in the photo. This has been levelled by cutting into the bedrock. Here can, mud and vegetation permitting, sometimes be seen curved pieces of rail which it is surmised once served as the mounting for an anti-aircraft gun or searchlight.

(Above) Aerial view of the Observation Hut near the Golf Course (SN593834). Note the open observation chamber, adjacent original crew area with sloping concrete roof and hastily added extension with corrugated roof. Photo by Ioan Lord.

(Above)The same hut seen from a greater height giving an idea of the 360 degree view. A light green circular area on the other side of the fence between the hut and the cattle feeder marks an area of level ground connected with the hut.  Photo by Ioan Lord.

Following the footpath that skirts the golf course we come to the junction with the footpath to Cwm Woods we find two more derelict huts. To the right is a graffiti covered Victorian powder magazine connected with the nearby quarries. On the left is a hut that provided accommodation for perhaps four or six persons. A damaged Belfast sink, a privy and the foundations for another stove are indicative of its purpose. One window at the rear retains the mesh that presumably covered each window to protect the occupants in the event of a bomb blast nearby. But back to the Victorian powder magazine -  attached to the back is a small extension in familiar red brick rendered with drab concrete and boasting a substantial roof held together with steel straps. This may have been an ammunition store, as may be the brick lined shallow pit in the same field.

A ten minute walk through the golf course brings one to the top of Brynymor Road. A path opposite Brynymor mansion leads through some trees to a junction with the Penglais Nature trail. Just below this was Brynhyfryd farm. Near here are the last and least impressive of the installations in the series. Now overgrown, a low wall, familiar red brick with drab concrete rendering can be seen. Its purpose is unclear, but on the right in the adjoining field is a concreted area, also overgrown. Another, larger concreted area is over to the left and accessed by a gravel path (a track in my youth). This area is hidden from the seaward side by a low knoll but gives an excellent view over the bay. Could this area also have been used to house guns to defend the radar masts against attack by enemy aircraft?

The accommodation block at the top of the golf course. On the left is the Victorian powder store, once known as y Bwthyn and prior to the war home to T E Nicholas, an educated tramp. Note the small extension on the left gable end. Photo Ioan Lord.

Guess work would suggest that all these structures comprised a Radar Receiving Station. Were all these huts built to maintain, service and defend the radar masts? Were they manned by regular soldiers, RAF, Royal Observer Corps or the local Home Guard?  If it was a receiving station, where was the transmitting station? Were some, or all, of these structures working in tandem with weapons development facilities at Aberporth?

Compared with many other WWII radar sites the history of that at Aberystwyth, like the ancillary buildings, is much neglected.  Of one thing we can be reasonably sure – if there were guns here it is highly unlikely they were ever fired in anger.

William Troughton