The Galley Restaurant in Hut 4

Bletchley Park has now opened ‘The Galley Bar and Restaurant’, in the codebreaking hut that housed the wartime Naval Intelligence Section, complete with outdoor seating and children’s play area.  This project would not have been possible without the funds raised by the limited edition of 50 blue and gold Fabergé Enigma Eggs specially-commissioned to help raise much needed funds for Bletchley Park.   The Enigma Eggs sold-out within weeks of their launch in February, allowing the Renovation to commence.

Hut 4 was built in 1939 and the Naval Section moved there from the Library in early 1940.  Decrypted Enigma messages were sent there from Hut 8 to be translated and forwarded to the Naval Intelligence Division at the Admiralty.  In 1942, Naval Section moved to Block A.  Hut 4 was then used for Military Section, Intelligence Exchange and W/T (Wireless Transmission) co-ordination until the end of the war.  It is one of the largest Huts, the only Hut in the Park to have been in continuous use since it was built and has been repeatedly altered internally, since early days.

During the war, a near miss of a German bomb (from the only stick of bombs dropped near Bletchley) fell into Bletchley Park’s grounds.  Fortunately it fell into soft earth and buried itself before exploding.  The blast moved the rear end of Hut 4 two metres off its foundations.  Without informing the staff working inside Hut 4, the maintenance team levered the end of the hut back into place.  After the war, members of the staff on duty that day told Bletchley Park Trust members, that the first they knew about it was a “funny feeling that the whole hut was moving”.  The bomb was thought to have been dropped by a German bomber randomly emptying its load before returning to his air-base.

This year, the architect, David Hartley and Structural Engineer, Andrew Chisem of Roltons were appointed to prepare the plans for submission to MK Council for approval, but seeking to retain the character of the original wartime Hut.  David Dowsing, Operations Director at Bletchley Park explained, “It soon became obvious that the works would be more complicated than originally envisaged”.  The building had stood since 1939, having been built as a temporary construction, and not much more substantial than a garden shed, for the duration of the war.  The roof has now had the trusses strengthened, additional purlins, new plywood boarding, additional wall strengthening with new foundations and felt roofing.  The gutters and pipes were all replaced.  The kitchen area had to be stripped out completely with a new electrical installation and tiled walls to conform to environmental health requirements as well as new catering equipment.

Some partition walls were removed to improve the seating area and new lighting was installed together with new flooring.  The toilet facilities were upgraded and a disabled toilet was added before the furniture could be moved in and the restaurant opened to the public.  The restaurant is now decorated with World War Two posters which give it an authentic wartime atmosphere.

Steven Hancock, Managing Director of The Zest Group, continued the story.  “The Galley Bar and Restaurant is run and managed by The Zest Group, in partnership with the Trust, and is open to Bletchley Park visitors every day.  Hut 4 has undergone a superb renovation allowing us to respect the history and traditions of such an historically important building.  We have created a wide-ranging menu of good traditional foods that cover all tastes from beer battered haddock and chips to our gourmet pie of the month with fresh market vegetables.  We also offer a full range of salads, sandwiches, soups and jacket potatoes as well as delicious homemade cakes and Danish pastries.

We are passionate about creating high quality honest food.  As with everything that Zest does you will see our passion running through all elements of the Galley; from the fantastic food and the high level of staff service to the clean and presentable surroundings.”

Simon Greenish, Director of Bletchley Park Trust, thanked all those Bletchley Park Supporters who had made the vision of a restaurant in Hut 4 a reality.  He continued, ‘Soon after the renovation work on Hut 4 began, it became apparent that the building was on the verge of collapse.  Without the support of all those who have purchased a Sarah Fabergé Enigma Egg and without the generosity of sponsors such as New City Heating, this wonderful refurbishment of a wartime codebreaking Hut could not have been achieved.  The good news for all of those who didn’t manage to snap up one of the Eggs before they sold out, is that we have now unveiled another specially-commissioned creation by Sarah Fabergé; the exquisite, limited-edition Enigma Pendant’.