Bletchley Park, in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, is where during the Second World War thousands of people worked in secret to break German military codes, including the famous Enigma. Among them was the mathematician Alan Turing, one of the fathers of computer science. Their work, kept secret for decades, made a decisive contribution to the Allied victory. Today the mansion and the huts where the codebreakers worked are a fascinating museum.
History
In 1938 Admiral Hugh Sinclair, head of the British secret service, bought the estate to house the Government Code and Cypher School, the office responsible for breaking enemy communications. The site was ideal: in the countryside, but close to the railway line between London, Oxford and Cambridge, where many of the mathematicians came from. On the eve of war the first codebreakers moved in, working in wooden Huts built in the grounds.
Building on the work of Polish mathematicians who had already studied Enigma, Turing and Gordon Welchman designed the Bombes, electromechanical machines that helped find the daily cipher settings. In Hut 8 Turing and his team managed to read German naval messages, crucial in the Battle of the Atlantic against the U-boats. To break the Lorenz cipher, used by the German high command, the engineer Tommy Flowers built Colossus, considered the first programmable electronic digital computer. By the end of the war about ten thousand people worked at Bletchley, three quarters of them women. All had sworn to secrecy, and only in the 1970s did the world learn what had happened here.
- 1938The secret service buys the estate
- 1939The codebreakers move to Bletchley Park
- 1940The first Turing Bombe comes into operation
- 1944Colossus comes into operation
- 1974The Enigma secret is revealed
- 1994Bletchley Park opens as a museum
What to see
The mansion and the huts
The mansion, a curious mix of Victorian styles, housed the management offices. In the grounds you can visit the restored Huts, furnished as they were during the war, with desks, telephones, typewriters and projections showing the daily work. Hut 8 contains Alan Turing's office, recreated with period objects and the famous mug chained to the radiator.
Enigma and the Bombe
In Block B several original Enigma machines are on display, along with a working reconstruction of the Turing-Welchman Bombe, which volunteers run in demonstrations. Interactive exhibits let you try encrypting and decrypting messages.
The computing museum
On the same site, with a separate ticket, The National Museum of Computing houses a working reconstruction of Colossus and a large collection of historic computers.
The lake and the film
The grounds around the lake, where the codebreakers strolled during breaks and skated in winter, are very pleasant. Turing's story was told in the 2014 film The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
A book to read
The definitive biography is Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges, on which the film was based.
Practical information
Bletchley Park is open every day; the ticket is often valid for a year. The site is large: a multimedia guide is included. There are cafés and a shop. Opening times and prices are on the official website.
Getting there
- By train: from London Euston to Bletchley station in about 40 minutes; the entrance is right opposite the station.
- By car: from the M1, junctions 13 or 14, to Milton Keynes.
- By air: Luton Airport is about 30 minutes away; see London's airports.
Nearby
- Milton Keynes, a new town with large parks.
- Warwick Castle and Oxford, less than an hour away.
- The gardens of Stowe and Waddesdon Manor, in Buckinghamshire.
Tips
- How long: at least half a day, a full day with the computing museum.
- When to go: all year round.
- A tip: watch a Bombe demonstration: seeing the machine at work brings home the challenge the codebreakers faced.