Although no one would ever consider living in a bunker during World War II, Elizabeth Strutton was captivated by the potential of the space.
This bunker was built in 1942. It was used by the citizens as a secret radar and communications station.
This was the first line of defense against any possible Nazi attacks. The team collected information and monitored the skies without being detected.
Strutton’s bunker home sits in Cornwall in Great Britain. The bunker home was used 24 hours a days and was vital in the war against the Nazis eight decades ago.
It was decommissioned in 1982 by the British Ministry of Defence, and sat for many decades on a farm.
Strutton and her husband, Mike, saw the bunker for sale sign in a real estate office’s window and bought the property for $194,000 from a farmer who used it as storage for potatoes.
The bunker contained equipment from its military days when the couple took control. It was designed to be bombproof and had walls between two and six feet thick. Converting the space into a living space was a difficult task.
The bunker’s surrounding area was also heavily overgrown. There was Ivy everywhere. To accommodate insulation, plumbing, or electricity, the floors had to rise and the ceilings had had to be lowered.
The underground space is now fully functional after five years of hard work, and more than $135,000 in renovations.
Strutton cleaned the entrance, but it looks much the same as when it was in its original state. But once you look inside, you’ll see the drastic changes that occurred.
Strutton explained why she wanted the bunker in a 2013 interview with Daily Mail.
“It is a magical fortress. You are at both the end of the world, and the beginning of living history. You don’t know what you’re letting yourself in for when you take this kind of thing on, but I know I live in the best place in the world now,” she said.
The bunker house she built has three bedrooms, two baths, and a large living area. The underground location made it difficult to place windows so they installed tubular rooflights through the roof, allowing natural sunlight to enter.
The builders installed fire sprinklers in the home because there were no fire escapes. They also spent a month drilling through the bunker roof.
Because the three-foot soil mound covering the structure meant that the bunker had to be insulated to stop mold growth.
“The building process was very difficult. It hasn’t been done before so the builders weren’t used to this kind of space. It took much longer and much more money than expected,” Strutton said.
Most of the interior’s original structure was retained despite the major transformation, and Strutton has welcomed visits from several veterans who wanted to see the place for themselves.
“Amazingly, the family of a veteran came down the other week,” she said at the time. “They said their mum now has dementia but told them she worked here during the war. They didn’t believe her but once they were in, it was exactly as she had described it. Their mother was very happy about it apparently.”
Strutton and its visitors are well aware of the historic importance of this location.
“Living in here, you do really appreciate the way people fought – you feel a sort of connection with what they were doing. It is something I don’t want to take for granted and one of the best things about the place,” she said.
Take a look at the gallery below to see inside.
This one-of-a kind home is on display in the video below, which was produced by HGTV.
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