20 CONTEXT 175 : MARCH 2023 tests on the atomic bomb, designed to mimic the rigours which a weapon might suffer before detonation. They included vibration, extremes of temperature, shocks and so on. Although the weapons did not contain radioactive material, the high-explosive initiator was present. A test failure might result in catastrophe, so the laboratories were designed to absorb and dissipate an explosion. What will be the memorials to the turbulent decades of the later 20th century? In earlier periods, defensive buildings were used both strategically and for show, to display power against real or imagined threats. A classic example is Orford Castle, built by Henry II to counterbalance the power of local barons. But by the end of the second world war, ostentatious buildings had been made redundant by the vast destructive power of new weaponry, and from then on, power was displayed by parading technology in public. Redundant weapons are preserved in museums, but these will never have the hold on the imagination that the great medieval castles do. Much of the appeal of these structures stems from the contrast between the dominating scale of the architecture and the effects of time on their fabric. Some castles can still hold us in awe, especially where their imposing form is set in opposition to the forces of nature, such as at Dunstanburgh on the windswept Northumbrian coast. The impact of this castle in its landscape is comparable with that of the AWRE test cells standing in the shingle wastes at Orford Ness. The decaying cold-war buildings at Orford Ness show our continuing confrontation with the forces of nature, which over time can erode or destroy our structures. In the harsh environment of the Ness, the destructive powers of nature are evident in the massive shingle banks thrown up or scoured away, sometimes in a single day. Since 1993 three buildings have disappeared into the sea, and one has collapsed in a storm. In 2020 the famous lighthouse (not owned by the National Trust) was demolished before it too could be swept away. Defining the aesthetic, symbolic and historical importance of the buildings was the first step in the production of a management plan. The next step was to identify the features which contribute most to these. They were summarised, along with nature conservation aspects, in a statement of significance which defined the key features the trust should preserve. When describing Orford Ness, one tends to use adjectives such as bleak, mysterious, secret or hostile. Although these words describe the overriding impression of the shingle areas, they do not fit other parts of the property. Just as one might define different habitat areas, and develop different management prescriptions for each, it was important to try to define areas with different aesthetic characteristics. Orford Ness can be divided into character areas, which gain their distinctiveness from their geology and past history and management. There is not space here to describe all the character areas, but to illustrate the contrasts I will describe one briefly before going into more depth on another. The Airfield Marsh, the first area seen by the visitor after alighting from the boat, initially seems a piece of unspectacular pasture. This feeling is created by the high riverbanks, which cut off any views, and by the arrangement of The Atomic Weapons Research Establishment labs, including the so-called Pagodas (below), slowly decaying (Photos: National Trust, Justin Minns – the top two – and, for the Pagodas, National Trust)
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