Photo Credit: UK government agencies, OGL 3, via Wikimedia Commons

An in-person only event. No need to sign up, just come along – all are welcome

Post-war, Britain embarked on ambitious projects to generate energy from the atom. The places associated with these ventures, secured by high fences, became symbols of a new industrial age. For some Aldermaston, Dounreay, Harwell, Windscale, and Winfrith were locations where science fiction became reality, while others viewed them as home to some ‘unmentionable devilment’.

A distinguishing, and perhaps surprising, feature of the power programmes was the obligation in the 1957 Electricity Act to consider the effect of the new stations on the visual amenity of an area, resulting in a blending of technology, architecture and landscape. Today, these relics of late 20th century science and industry are being decommissioned and largely erased from the landscape.

This lecture will explore the industrial archaeology of Britain’s ‘atomic age’, its technologies and the impact they have had on the built environment and landscapes of this country.

About the Speaker

Wayne Cocroft has recently retired as a Senior Archaeological Investigator with Historic England. For over 30 years, he has specialised in the investigation and assessment of recent defence and industrial sites.

Wayne has written extensively on these topics including on the gunpowder and explosives industry, the home front during the First World War, Cold War installations, signals intelligence in West Berlin and most recently Building for the Atomic Age An industrial archaeology of the United Kingdom’s nuclear industry.

He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.