# Barnton Quarry > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Barnton_Quarry > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Barnton_Quarry.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnton_Quarry > Source revision: 1321262960 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Barnton Quarry** is a disused stone [quarry](/source/Quarry) in [Corstorphine Hill](/source/Corstorphine_Hill), [Clermiston](/source/Clermiston), [Edinburgh](/source/Edinburgh), Scotland. The site was later used as a military command centre, and is now being converted into a museum. Stone was extracted from the quarry until 1914. During the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War), the [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force) (RAF) built a [Fighter Command](/source/RAF_Fighter_Command) operations room in the quarry. In 1952, during the [Cold War](/source/Cold_War), this facility was expanded into a central coordination facility for radar stations throughout Scotland. The military authorities closed the site and in 1983 and transferred ownership to the [local council](/source/Local_government_in_Scotland). The site was subsequently vandalised and damaged by fire. The site is now being cleaned and restored with the goal of creating a local Cold War museum and education centre. The project is being undertaken by volunteers, with funding from the owners of [Scotland's Secret Bunker](/source/Scotland's_Secret_Bunker), a disused bunker near [Anstruther](/source/Anstruther) which is now run as a tourist attraction. ## History Barnton Quarry produced stone until 1914,[1] then in 1942 was used as an RAF fighter command operations room. A bunker was built in 1952[1] as the SOC (Sector Operations Centre) for correlating information from [ROTOR](/source/ROTOR) radar stations throughout Scotland. The bunker comprises three underground levels and a large surface building which predates the underground structure. The site was re-designated as a [regional seat of government](/source/Regional_seat_of_government) in the early 1960s. The bunker was kept ready to accommodate 400 politicians and civil servants for up to 30 days.[2] It remained operational until the early 1980s. Ownership was transferred to [Lothian Regional Council](/source/Lothian_Regional_Council) in 1983.[2] In the late 1980s, MacGregor Properties bought the site but failed to get planning permission to develop it.[3] The underground structure was damaged by fire in August 1991 and again in May 1993.[1] The site was purchased by James Mitchell, owner of Scotland's Secret Bunker.[4] Since 2011, a team of volunteers has helped with renovation efforts.[2] The aim is to create a museum and education centre with a view to restoring the [R4 bunker](/source/ROTOR) to the original 1952 configuration.[1][5] In June 2021, [Historic Environment Scotland](/source/Historic_Environment_Scotland) designated the site as Category-A listed.[6] ## See also - [Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker](/source/Kelvedon_Hatch_Secret_Nuclear_Bunker) - [RAF Shipton](/source/RAF_Shipton) ## References 1. O'Leary, David (26 February 2013). ["Queen's Edinburgh nuclear bunker to open as museum"](http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/queen-s-edinburgh-nuclear-bunker-to-open-as-museum-1-2810424). *[Edinburgh Evening News](/source/Edinburgh_Evening_News)*. Retrieved 26 December 2016. 1. McDowall, Julie (18 January 2016). ["Our Cold War secret bunker in an Edinburgh suburb"](http://www.thenational.scot/news/14901377.Our_Cold_War_secret_bunker_in_an_Edinburgh_suburb/). *[The National](/source/The_National_(Scotland))*. Retrieved 27 December 2016. 1. Brown, Angie (22 March 2023). ["Hidden history of Scotland's biggest nuclear bunker"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-64944182). *BBC News*. Retrieved 23 March 2023. 1. ["Secret underground bunker in Edinburgh opened up to visitors. The bunker was built beneath Corstorphine Hill during the 1950s to help defend against nuclear war"](https://stv.tv/news/east-central/220026-edinburgh-underground-bunker-to-be-opened-up-to-visitors/). *[STV News](/source/STV_News)*. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2016. 1. ["Inside the Barnton Quarry Cold War nuclear bunker"](http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/our-region/edinburgh/corstorphine/inside-the-barnton-quarry-cold-war-nuclear-bunker-1-4082465). *Edinburgh Evening News*. 25 March 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016. 1. ["Former Cold War Bunker in Edinburgh gets A Listed"](https://www.historicenvironment.scot/about-us/news/former-cold-war-bunker-in-edinburgh-gets-a-listed/). *www.historicenvironment.scot*. Historic Environment Scotland. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021. ## External links - [Barnton Quarry Restoration Project](https://web.archive.org/web/20130712161726/http://barntonquarry.org.uk/) - [Barnton Quarry at Subterranea Britannica](http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/b/barnton_quarry/index.html) - [Regional Seats of Government article at Subterranea Britannica discussing Barnton Quarry](http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/features/sfs/file5.htm) - [Barnton Quarry described within the Gazetteer for Scotland of the Royal Scottish Geographic Society](http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst8554.html) - [Barnton Quarry in the Scots at War directory](https://web.archive.org/web/20070927191501/http://scotsatwar.co.uk/AZ/barntonpq.htm) - [Barnton Quarry Nuclear Bunker at Atlas Obscura](http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/barnton-quarry-nuclear-bunker) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Barnton Quarry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnton_Quarry) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnton_Quarry?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.