British Quarry Hid Art During WW II
August 24, 2018 12:24 AM   Subscribe

For four years, a disused slate quarry in a remote mountain in North Wales became home to some of the world’s greatest artistic masterpieces. In specially constructed air-conditioned underground chambers the priceless treasures in the collection of London’s National Gallery sat out the days of the Second World War safe from Luftwaffe bombers and Nazi art hunters.
posted by MovableBookLady (11 comments total) 16 users marked this as a favorite
 
If you've seen the original BBC Edge of Darkness, you'll recognise Manod as the hot spot in Northmoor.
posted by Prince Lazy I at 2:33 AM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]


We have top men working on it. Top. Men.

Seriously- this is great! Thanks for posting.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 2:34 AM on August 24, 2018


These are marvellous pictures. That ladder looked awfully rickety though.
posted by arcticseal at 3:20 AM on August 24, 2018


One of the links in the article is to an account of a secret Cold-War-era test evacuation of paintings from the National Gallery to the quarry:
"The big joke of course was the TOP SECRET aspect. An operation of this kind could not take place in a small Welsh community, particularly on a Sunday, without it attracting a lot of attention, and many people in the area were convinced that war was about to be declared..."
Apparently, the chambers in the quarry weren't altogether safe themselves:
"In our part of Manod, one of the most essential tasks was constant attention to the stability of the rock. Pieces of rock were always coming adrift and sometimes these were large pieces. During the war time occupation there had been a major roof fall in one of the chambers and although the picture stores had concrete roofs a chamber had been demolished with the loss of a number of pictures."
posted by misteraitch at 3:34 AM on August 24, 2018


This was a plot point in an early episode of Foyle's War - the process for transporting the artwork to the quarry was quite meticulous. Fascinating stuff!
posted by Mogur at 3:34 AM on August 24, 2018


See also Bodmin Jail, where the Crown Jewels and the Domesday Book were secreted in WWI.
posted by pipeski at 6:25 AM on August 24, 2018


Wait, is the same quarry that some of us saw every other episode during the Tom Baker years?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:20 AM on August 24, 2018 [3 favorites]


The article doesn't say, and there aren't enough pictures of the surface to be sure, but personally I hope so.
posted by tobascodagama at 7:24 AM on August 24, 2018


I'm afraid not — this location list includes a truly mind-boggling number of other quarries, including: Betchworth Quarry (Genesis of the Daleks), Worsham Quarry (The Android Invasion), Buckland Sand and Silica Co Ltd (The Seeds of Doom), Slickstones Quarry (The Hand of Fear), Beachfields Quarry (The Invasion of Time), Little Rollright Quarry (The Stones of Blood), Winspit Quarry (Destiny of the Daleks), and Cwt y Bugail Quarry (The Five Doctors).
posted by mubba at 8:19 AM on August 24, 2018 [5 favorites]


I liked the custom crates and that extra little bit of care taken to make the bunk beds sturdy. It also looked like the chest of drawers in the security guards' was custom made for the spot.
posted by bonobothegreat at 6:01 AM on August 25, 2018


misteraitch: " Pieces of rock were always coming adrift and sometimes these were large pieces. "

This is most hard rock mines. When you work underground you can end up scaling (loosening and removing pieces about to come adrift) everyday at your work site.
posted by Mitheral at 5:54 PM on August 28, 2018


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