Going underground
Inside the top-secret Cold War-era tunnels beneath Manchester’s streets
UNDERNEATH Manchester lies a secret facility that was built during the Cold War in the event of a nuclear attack.
Guardian telephone exchange, also known as ‘Scheme 567,’ consists of a hidden web of tunnels and a bunker buried around 35 metres under Manchester’s streets.
It’s said that there were two secret doorway entrances into the site, one in Chinatown and the other behind the Piccadilly Hotel. Built between 1954 and 1957 when tensions were high, the exchange’s purpose was to provide hardened communications between the UK Government in London and the US Government in Washington in the event of a nuclear war breaking out.
The facility was also a fully operational fault repair centre for Manchester’s domestic and business telephone systems.
Guardian was one of three such facilities, the others being Birmingham’s Anchor exchange and London’s Kingsway exchange.
It was classified under a ‘D Notice’ in the 1950s to ensure the media didn’t know about it.
The facility was declassified in 1968, but it’s said that those with knowledge of the site had to sign the Official Secrets Act in the 1970s.
The nuclear bunker, which was totally self sufficient for drinking water, wasn’t public knowledge until 14 years after its construction in 1968.
Because of this, it was often regarded as the “best kept secret in Manchester”.
It’s believed parts of the Guardian telephone exchange – shafts, small buildings and water pumps – can be seen in various parts of the city.
This includes George Street, Lockton Close (Ardwick), Islington Street (Salford),
York Street, Rutherford House, York House and Dial House.
The tunnels, which are around two metres in diameter, are still intact, but most of the equipment has been removed.
The facility lies mainly empty, with only telephone cables now running through the tunnels. In 2004, the Guardian exchange rose to prominence when a fire in one of the tunnels caused 130,000 telephone lines in the city to be cut off.