Iris hut facts for kids

The Iris hut was a special building made from steel, used by the British army mostly at the start of World War II. These huts were built quickly and served as places for soldiers to sleep (called barracks), workshops for repairs, and storage areas across Great Britain. Some Iris huts were even used as homes inside the tunnels of Gibraltar, deep under the famous Rock of Gibraltar.

What is an Iris Hut and How Was It Built?

An Iris hut was built using a strong frame of steel tubes held together with clamps. It had an entrance right in the middle.

These huts were quite similar to another type of building called the Romney hut. Both were used for things that needed a very wide roof, like big storage areas or workshops. Sometimes, two or more Iris or Romney huts were put together at airfields to create even larger spaces.

However, the Iris hut had a big problem: its roof couldn't hold up heavy snow. If it snowed a lot, the roof could collapse! Because of this weakness, the Iris hut was mostly replaced by the stronger Romney hut by 1941.

Where Can You Find Iris Huts Today?

Because they were not very strong, most Iris huts have disappeared over time. They are quite rare to find now.

The Iris Huts at Bicester

You can still find six original Iris huts (along with six Romney huts) at a place called the Central Ordnance Depot Bicester. This is a facility run by the British Ministry of Defence.

The huts at Bicester were finished by July 1944. This was a time when the Iris hut design was already being phased out in most other places. They were needed for something called Operation Bolero. This was a huge plan to bring many American soldiers and their supplies to Britain to prepare for battles in Europe. The goal was to have 1,446,000 U.S. soldiers in Britain by April 30, 1944! This led to "the greatest expansion of military infrastructure ever to occur in British history."

The American troops stayed in 16-foot wide Nissen huts. Their supplies and workshops were kept in 35-foot wide Iris huts. These huts were made in Britain using steel imported from the United States.

After most U.S. forces left in early 1946, the huts at Bicester were no longer needed. Most of them were taken down during the 1960s. It's not completely clear what the Iris huts at Bicester were used for. However, they had special panels that allowed air to flow through, which suggests they might have been used to store things that could catch fire easily.

See also

• Quonset hut
• B hut
• Dymaxion deployment unit
• Iris hut
• Italian Chapel, constructed from two Nissen huts by Italian prisoners of war on Lamb Holm, Orkney Islands
• Romney hut
• Rubb hall
• Tin tabernacle, prefabricated churches made from corrugated galvanised steel
• Patera Building