Second World War public air raid shelter for 300 people in the basement of that part of the Russell Brewery on the south side of West Street, Gravesend. There are no details of how the building was adapted for this purpose but it is likely to have involved some strutting and other strengthening. The shelter appears to have been established in 1940 and would have been decommissioned by the end of the Second World War in Europe in 1945, with any alterations to the basement being rapidly removed, probably by no later than 1946. The basement area is thought still to exist within the old brewery complex, which was coverted for use as apartments in the 1990s.
Owner : Private
Publicly accessible : No
How accessed for survey : The basement is closed within private residential premises
Tourism Potential : None
Condition : unknown
Date of visit : 19/04/06

The Borough Engineer for Gravesend, 01/05/40, Untitled (Unpublished document). SKE13971.

The Borough Engineer for Gravesend, 01/05/40, Untitled (Unpublished document). Ske13971.