A piece of wartime history: rusty £170k Nissen hut is all set to be turned into a two-bedroom home
It doesn’t look much now, but this rusting Nissen hut is a piece of Second World War history that - with a little work - can be transformed into a unique home.
Sitting in a quarter acre of land, the rusting corrugated steel building was once sleeping quarters for airmen at RAF Shepherds Grove, which was opened in 1944 near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk.
What is a Nissen Hut?
Nissenhuts were invented during the First World War in 1916, with more than 100,000 manufactured that served as sleeping quarters, storage and even churches in war zones around the world.
Easily dismantled and transported - an entire one could be carried on an Army lorry and erected in just four hours by a team of six - they proved exceptionally useful although they were apparently no fun to live in, being cold and draughty in British climes and hot and stuffy in hot countries.
In January 1945, 196 Squadron made it their home from where they plotted Operation Varsity, the largest airborne operation of the Second World War.
Sixteen thousand paratroopers and thousands of aircraft, under the command of Field Marshal Montgomery, crossed the Rhine on March 24, 1945, entering northern Germany in a move that marked the beginning of the end for Hitler.
This Nissen hut was moved from the RAF base after the war and now sits in a garden on the outskirts of Diss in Norfolk, where planning permission has been granted to create a two-bedroom home that maintains the hut’s style and shape.
The master bedroom would sit at one end, while a floor-to-ceiling full-width window at the other end would flood the living areas with light.
The hut and the land have gone on the market for £170,000 and once fitted with all mod cons, the 629sq ft house would also include a sitting room, kitchen/dining area, utility room and a bathroom.
Planning permission has also been granted for a miniature Nissen hut-style storage unit.
Diss station is just three miles away, with regular trains to Liverpool Street taking around 90 minutes.
The Nissen hut is for sale at £170,000 through Hunters