Photos by Charlotte Wood 

Property details

Preparing for war in June 1939, the radar station at Dunkirk was designated by the War Office as one of just five most ‘Vulnerable Points’ in the country. To protect it from attack by enemy aircraft and even invading land forces, this gun tower formed the hub of the station’s defence, with a Bofors gun fixed to its roof.

In the 2000s, the now-derelict tower was thoughtfully converted into an elegant, minimalist dwelling. We are delighted to accept it into Landmark’s portfolio as a generous gift from the owners. The tower already has a Landmark feel and there is little we need to do it. We hope it will open as a new and exciting holiday retreat for 2 + 2 people in the autumn of 2026.

Defending a secret frontline technology

This World War II Bofors anti-aircraft gun tower is one of the few remaining examples of its type in the country, and a graphic reminder of the urgency of the strategic defence of Britain against the threat of invasion during the major conflict of the 20th century.

Positioned deep in the north Kentish countryside a few miles southeast of Whitstable, this may seem an unlikely spot to be allocated such national importance, but the Dunkirk radar station was in the frontline of defences against anticipated bombing raids on London. Radar was a secret British technology that the Nazis did not know we had developed. Such radar stations provided long range early warning against incoming aircraft; protecting them was a high priority.

A static Bofors gun and crew in action during WW2. Image featured in The 40mm Bofors Gun, Terry Gander (1986)

Fortification designs were urgently drawn up by the War Office. This specialised brick and concrete gun tower conforms to Type DFW 55087 and was hastily constructed after the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939. It was built to provide a fixed firing platform for a mighty 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun, renowned for its reliability, speed and accuracy.

Within the year, 40mm Bofors guns had become mobile units, making the tower obsolete for its original purpose. When the war ended, it lay abandoned for the next 50 years, subject to vandalism and decay.

The tower before restoration

Redolent of the modernist design revolution of the 1930s

In common with other such WW2 buildings (our current rescue project RAF Ibsley Watch Office among them), Bofors Tower has a certain distinction of design that is redolent of the modernist design revolution of the 1930s. This was recognised and brought to the fore in the early 2000s when the tower was privately rescued and sensitively restored as a minimalist holiday home in a woodland setting, a new roof floating above the original gun emplacement.

Floor plan

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