The Austin (later British Leyland and Rover) car plant at Longbridge was in operation for 100 years, between 1905 and 2005. In both World Wars,the plant was repurposed for the manufacture of war items including armaments, military armoured vehicles and aeroplanes.
In order to protect both the factory nd the personnel, many underground spaces and shelters were constructed - some bored as tunnels and others by cut-and-cover. These numbereed at least ten, the longest of which extended to approximately 3,500 feet -over 1,000 metres. in 1945 around 16,000 employees worked on the site.
Since closure, the site has undergone extensive redevelopment and the area is used for housing, retail and smaller businesses.
The definitive story of the underground production areas and shelters is told in Subterranea Britannica’s Bulletin number 32 (2007).