A property in Trevellas, a village on the north coast of Cornwall, near St Agnes, has come on the market with an unusual selling point: a 50-person underground air raid shelter, dating from the Second World War.
The shelter is concealed on the edge of the property’s land: its stone mouth covered by a green, shrub-covered mound.
A staircase leads down into a dark, cylindrical shelter, with a curved, ridged ceiling and a shaft at the far end, allowing some daylight to enter.
During the Second World War, the land was used as RAF barracks, connected to the nearby Perranporth Airfield, where the RAF had a spitfire base. Covering 207 square feet, the shelter was designed to accommodate up to 50 people underground in the event of an air raid.
Recruits were stationed in Nissen huts — prefabricated, cylindrical steel structures — in the field, whose concrete standings remain today. There are also a handful of disused buildings on the site today, which were once used as latrines.
Today, the air raid shelter is dark and bare, without electricity. Its current owners have tidied and excavated it, but did not use it themselves.
“People love it — they want to go down and have a look,” says Alex Simmons at Clive Pearce Property. “Loads of people have suggested things that they might do with it, from have a recording studio down there to growing mushrooms. It could be a really interesting hobby space.”
“People have suggested things that they might do with it, from have a recording studio down there to growing mushrooms.”
Unusually, this is the second property with an air raid shelter that Simmons has listed.
The first, in nearby Portreath, had a bomb shelter which was directly accessible from the house. “I sold it, and the [buyers] made it into the most amazing wet room — they tiled it all out. This one could become a sauna.”
Besides the air raid shelter, the property — listed for £799,950 with Clive Pearce Property — comprises a single-storey, two-bedroom main house, a self-contained, one-bedroom annexe, a studio and workshop, a polytunnel for growing, and a paddock.
The buildings, including the air raid shelter, cover a total of 2,241 square feet.
The current owners, who bought the property in 2020, according to Land Registry records, converted both the main house and annexe from barns, while the workshop was formerly a tractor shed. The main house takes a simple layout, with an open plan kitchen and living space and double bedrooms, both with ensuite, at either side. Floor-to-ceiling glass doors open out onto the garden, which is south facing.
The annexe, also built by the current owners, has one ensuite bedroom, with a smaller kitchen and living area and a separate bathroom. The workshop, on the other hand, has been fitted with a wood burner, with a section used as an artist studio.
“It’s just a lovely setting, and you’re right near the north coast of Cornwall. It’s hard to beat.”
Outside, there is a 4kW solar panel system outside, which “certainly keeps the bills down,” says Simmons, as well as a wetsuit hanger and outdoor shower, for trips to the beach.
“What I like is the complete package,” he says. “You’ve got the potential to earn a holiday letting income, as well as space for an interesting hobby, whether that’s in the workshop, or underground in your air raid shelter. It’s also got enough land to keep animals. The concrete bases, where the original barracks used to be, would be good if you wanted to put in a building like a stable block.”
The current owners have used the property as their primary residence, renting out the main house at times. Now, though, they are eager for another renovation project, and have listed their home for sale. “It’s been a labour of love to bring this one from a barn to what it is today. They’ve got the bug for that,” says Simmons. “They’ll be sorry to leave it, but excited to find something else and do it again.”
Although the property could be used as a holiday let, Simmons believes it is best suited as a permanent home.
The annexe, he says, lends it well to multi-generational family living, and could be used by an elderly relative or a child with more complex needs. And, of course, if there was ever the threat of an air raid, a buyer would have somewhere to shelter.
“It’s just a lovely setting, and you’re right near the north coast of Cornwall,” says Simmons. “It’s hard to beat.”
