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Photos: IBM from Spitfires to Sphynxes
Big Blue's development lab at Hursley turns 50

By Julian Goldsmith

Published: Friday 19 September 2008

The IBM development laboratory at Hursley House celebrates its 50th birthday this month. Over the last half-century, the lab has seen many developments in storage and display created there.

The house and grounds have a history that dates back to Roman settlement, while its heritage as an engineering site precedes IBM's arrival.

During the 1940s, the house was given over to aerospace engineers at Vickers who used it to develop the Supermarine Spitfire fighter plane. What is now a conference hall on the ground floor was at that time used as a testing bay for Rolls Royce Merlin engines.

Photo credit: Julian Goldsmith/silicon.com