Building record 7756/4 - Jodrell Bank Observatory: 21ft Telescope Control Room (Polarisation Hut)

<1> Historic England, 2015-, Notification Report of Decision not to Designate, Fox P, 11/07/2017 (Written Communication). SCH7825.

‘…The 21ft Telescope Control Room was built c1949, and until 1982 was known as the Polarisation Hut as it was associated with studying the polarisation of the radio echoes of meteors entering the earth’s atmosphere. Alterations which have taken place at unknown dates include the infilling of the left front doorway to create a window, and the removal of the main external doors, creating an open lobby. Internal partitions have also been rearranged, as these no longer all align with the edgings in the parquet floor. The eastern room has no parquet floor but it is not clear if this is an alteration or the original arrangement, or what this might denote about the use of the building…’

‘…This is one of four, more or less identical, huts that were constructed along with three larger huts, all using the same standard building system, in 1949, as the first phase of permanent entrenchment of what had begun as a temporary venture. These huts were used for a variety of research, administrative and support functions. This hut, originally called the Polarisation Hut, was used for research, but no significant scientific advances are thought to have been made here. In addition, this hut is substantially altered both externally and internally, including at both original entrances. The alterations have removed original fabric and have not enhanced the interest of the building…’

<2> Chris Blandford Associates, 2016, Jodrell Bank Observatory, Conservation Management Plan (Client Report). SCH8560.