Bletchley Park code-breaking block is awarded Grade II listing

Block C at Bletchley Park, where the German's Enigma Code was cracked during World War II, has been given Grade II listed status.

The news, announced on Friday by John Penrose, Minister for Tourism & Heritage is another much needed boost to the restoration work being carried out at the Bletchley Park, the iconic World War II code breaking centre; credited with reducing the length of the war by up to two years.

Block C, first occupied in 1942, housed Hollerith tabulating machines that were used to index and cross-reference deciphered messages.

"The work that took place at Bletchley Park was absolutely key to the Allied victory in World War II," Penrose said.

The plan for the building under Bletchley Park Trust's £7.5m renovation project is to renovate it to its former open-plan design so it forms the park's entrance and visitor centre.

The Trust was awarded a £5m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and is now engaged in raising money to complete the renovation work.

Google donated £550,000 in December and Simon Greenish, the Trust's chief executive, said: "Listing Block C is an important step forward... we are very close to but we are not there yet."