GCHQ Bude

GCHQ Bude
Part of Government Communications Headquarters
Located near Coombe, Bude, Cornwall, United Kingdom
View of the GCHQ Bude array
GCHQ Bude
Coordinates	50°53′10″N 4°33′13″W / 50.8862°N 4.5537°W / 50.8862; -4.5537
Type	Satellite Ground Station
Site information
Controlled by	GCHQ
Condition	Active
Site history
Built	1969 - 2001

GCHQ Bude, formerly called the Composite Signals Organisation (CSO) Station Morwenstow, is a satellite ground station and eavesdropping centre located on the north Cornwall coast at Cleave Camp, between the small villages of Morwenstow and Coombe, operated by the British signals intelligence service (GCHQ), on the site of the former World War II airfield, RAF Cleave.

The site of GCHQ Bude is in Morwenstow, the northernmost parish of Cornwall. This parish has a rich history, including many shipwrecks on its shores and a famous association with the eccentric vicar and poet, Robert Stephen Hawker.

During World War II, the location was used by the Royal Air Force. RAF Cleave was conceived as housing target and target support aircraft for firing ranges along the north Cornwall coast and land was acquired from Cleave Manor. In 1939 it became home to two flights of 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit. In 1943 No. 639 Squadron was established on the site for the remainder of the war. The airfield was put under maintenance in April 1945, staying under government ownership.

In the early 1960s, developments occurred which appear to have prompted the establishment of the facility now known as GCHQ Bude. In 1962, a satellite receiving station for the commercial communication satellites of Intelsat was established at Goonhilly Downs, just over a hundred kilometres south-southwest of Morwenstow.

The downstream link from the Intelsat satellites could easily be intercepted by placing receiver dishes nearby in the satellites' "footprint". For that, the land at Cleave was allotted to the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works in 1967 and construction of the satellite interception station began in 1969. Two ninety-foot dishes appeared first, followed by smaller dishes in the ensuing years. The station was signposted as "CSOS Morwenstow", with "CSOS" standing for Composite Signals Organisation Station. In 2001, a third large dish appeared and the station became known as "GCHQ Bude".