Bletchley Park, as at least some of you will remember, was the home the English codebreaking team that broke the Enigma and Lorenz codes during WWII. Bletchley was also the home of Colossus (from the Wikipedia)
From 1943, Colossus, one of the earliest digital electronic computers, was constructed in order to break the German teleprinter on-line Lorenz cipher known as Tunny. Colossus was designed and built by Tommy Flowers and his team at the Post Office Research Station at Dollis Hill. The Colossus series of machines, of which there were ten by the end of the war, were operated at Bletchley Park in a section named the Newmanry after its head Max Newman.
Despite its fame, Bletchley Park had fallen into disrepair. However, after raising private funds and government support, things appear to be on track for a better tomorrow. From a story at the Guardian
Campaigners had already raised more than £5m since 1992, and in August, Bletchley opened the National Museum of Computing. This effort was soon backed by computer giant IBM and the security company PGP Corporation – which both donated significant sums to the cause.
But the £330,000, three-year grant from English Heritage – the arm of the government that oversees historic monuments and sites – should finally help seal its long-term future if it succeeds in finding matching donations from private donors.
“It marks the start of a regeneration initiative to transform Bletchley Park into a world-class heritage and education centre,” said Simon Greenish, the director of Bletchley Park Trust.
Fun fact, Alan Turing was stationed there.
Thanks for highlighting this John, my campaign blog is at http://www.savingbletchleypark.org if anyone wants to keep up to date with progress on funding etc.