Visited back in November with Mookster after seeing the Typhoo Factory. Another one ticked off the list which has been kicking about for years. I really enjoyed this one; though quite bare and largely sealed, it had a lot of nice things to see down there. The air was pretty bad though in places!
History - Borrowed!
The ‘Shadow Factory Tunnels’ are what remain of Lord Austin’s secret plans that were created to increase the force of the British military against the German military aggression in the arms race that led up to the start of the Second World War.
Munitions workers produced Merlin engines to power Spitfires and Hawker Hurricanes which were used to regain control of the British skies during the 1940 Battle of Britain.
The Shadow Scheme involved two stages; the building of nine new factories and the extension of existing factories.
This extension included here; the Longbridge plant. Australian-born industrialist and Conservative MP, Lord Austin, whom founded Austin Motors; had already contributed to the war effort during the First World War, turning his factories to munitions and engine production.
The tunnels which ran beneath Austin Rovers Longbridge plant are mostly all that is left of the plant; a large housing development increases in size upon the former footprint. These tunnels ensured that production of the engines and munitions could continue underground in relative safety.
After WWII; the factory returned to producing automobiles and the tunnels were soon abandoned. By the late 60s, the plant was the second largest car plant in the world.
After the collapse of MG Rover, the site saw its redevelopment. Famously; a mini was kept down here after workers damaged it in the 70s and it was hidden from bosses. The mini is now in a museum.
This is a very small portion of the tunnels. Lots is bricked up
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History - Borrowed!
The ‘Shadow Factory Tunnels’ are what remain of Lord Austin’s secret plans that were created to increase the force of the British military against the German military aggression in the arms race that led up to the start of the Second World War.
Munitions workers produced Merlin engines to power Spitfires and Hawker Hurricanes which were used to regain control of the British skies during the 1940 Battle of Britain.
The Shadow Scheme involved two stages; the building of nine new factories and the extension of existing factories.
This extension included here; the Longbridge plant. Australian-born industrialist and Conservative MP, Lord Austin, whom founded Austin Motors; had already contributed to the war effort during the First World War, turning his factories to munitions and engine production.
The tunnels which ran beneath Austin Rovers Longbridge plant are mostly all that is left of the plant; a large housing development increases in size upon the former footprint. These tunnels ensured that production of the engines and munitions could continue underground in relative safety.
After WWII; the factory returned to producing automobiles and the tunnels were soon abandoned. By the late 60s, the plant was the second largest car plant in the world.
After the collapse of MG Rover, the site saw its redevelopment. Famously; a mini was kept down here after workers damaged it in the 70s and it was hidden from bosses. The mini is now in a museum.
This is a very small portion of the tunnels. Lots is bricked up
#1
![46373203351_af39ce0e19_b.jpg 46373203351_af39ce0e19_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/249/249355-46373203351-af39ce0e19-b.jpg)
#2
![46322283252_c9b65fc1a9_b.jpg 46322283252_c9b65fc1a9_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/249/249356-46322283252-c9b65fc1a9-b.jpg)
#3
![46322662482_da102a0d89_b.jpg 46322662482_da102a0d89_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/249/249357-46322662482-da102a0d89-b.jpg)
#4
![46373547711_ed07ab6634_b.jpg 46373547711_ed07ab6634_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/249/249358-46373547711-ed07ab6634-b.jpg)
#5
![46373776501_b5419371f1_b.jpg 46373776501_b5419371f1_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/249/249359-46373776501-b5419371f1-b.jpg)
#6
![45650734054_ce12bdaac2_b.jpg 45650734054_ce12bdaac2_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/249/249360-45650734054-ce12bdaac2-b.jpg)
#7
![44556659940_8e3b5bb6c5_b.jpg 44556659940_8e3b5bb6c5_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/249/249361-44556659940-8e3b5bb6c5-b.jpg)
#8
![45650588344_9ed1052060_b.jpg 45650588344_9ed1052060_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/249/249362-45650588344-9ed1052060-b.jpg)
#9
![44556706590_b1b4db8390_b.jpg 44556706590_b1b4db8390_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/249/249363-44556706590-b1b4db8390-b.jpg)
#10
![46373522401_2df9a4b1ec_b.jpg 46373522401_2df9a4b1ec_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/249/249364-46373522401-2df9a4b1ec-b.jpg)
#11
![45460908325_322abf0ac4_b.jpg 45460908325_322abf0ac4_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/249/249365-45460908325-322abf0ac4-b.jpg)
#12
![45650631324_d36e50a0fa_b.jpg 45650631324_d36e50a0fa_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/249/249366-45650631324-d36e50a0fa-b.jpg)
#13
![46373803541_1263d7753e_b.jpg 46373803541_1263d7753e_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/249/249367-46373803541-1263d7753e-b.jpg)
#14
![46373675831_3a251b5896_b.jpg 46373675831_3a251b5896_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/249/249368-46373675831-3a251b5896-b.jpg)
#15
![46322689522_3b81357ebc_b.jpg 46322689522_3b81357ebc_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/249/249369-46322689522-3b81357ebc-b.jpg)
#16
![46322913612_8249e4484c_b.jpg 46322913612_8249e4484c_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/249/249370-46322913612-8249e4484c-b.jpg)
#17
![44556485200_c208777d25_b.jpg 44556485200_c208777d25_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/249/249371-44556485200-c208777d25-b.jpg)