Monument record MDR11635 - Air raid shelter (remains of), Bolsover Junior School, Bolsover, Old Bolsover

Following the demolition of three prefabricated classrooms at Bolsover Junior School in 2006, the remains of a World War II air raid shelter were uncovered. The shelter had been constructed by the insertion of two lines of parallel iron shuttering within a trench, around and over which earth had originally been packed. It measured 12.3m in length and 1.49m in width. The shelter had been infilled with rubble and earth and the roof removed prior to the construction of the classrooms. An entrance was visible on the western elevation of the shelter, and there was a brick feature at the southern end, interpreted as having been an air vent. While the shelter could have been built for the protection of the school children, it could also have been used by temporary occupants of the castle, as this was the headquarters of the Local Defence Volunteers from 1940, while the school itself was used for meetings of the Defence force. (1)