Hi, just joined today, was on that other forum but its changed it format so much i carnt understand it now lol.
I had tried eariler to attach these photos to a write up i did as a reply to someone elses report done here recently, but its only put the text up and no photos so trying again here.
Just to clarify as many people have the history wrong on the write ups.
Opened in 1957 as central vehicle depot marchington, and was used for this only 10 years till 1967, mainly ran by military staff, you had married families in the married quarter houses didcot drive, arbourfield road, corsham place and hillsea crescent all named after barrack sites somewhere in the uk.
Then single soldiers were housed in the 6 barrack blocks, that could sleep 8 men to a room, spoke to some ex vehicle specialist men who were stationed here in the past so have learnt a lot from them about it.
After 1967 it was part used by the army for other uses into the mid 1970's, i was told again by someone who worked there the married quarters were 'marched out of' in 1976 and then sold to east staffs district council and they in turn sold them on as private dwellings.
The remainder of the site was mothballed and kept under care till it was sold to evans property of Leeds around 1980, shortly after which they set up the old B depot as marchington industrial estate but no one ever found a use for the canteen block and the six 3 story barrack blocks and they remained derelict from 1980 onwards to now hence today they are just ruins.
I first found them back in 1988 and they were in good order then, you could tell they had been derelict several years as they were broken windows even then and some damage only light though, and some items had been nicked and removed off the walls etc.
It still had the look of a place almost in use though just with long grass round it, guess 8 years derelict would be about right for the damage seen as it was well out of the way of people to find it back then.
The police did use it for dog training as i saw them on site several times into the early 90's, apart from that it was never used from the mid 70's.
I live local and have spoke to many people about the place over the years.
The site remained intact till about 1992, then spells of caravan people turned up and stripped the place of metal , vandals got in and smashed all the windows and lights, and mirrors and sinks, then it got grafitied up and its the mess its in today really.
The site is huge, the main part 'B depot' was for the storage and maintenance of B type vehicles, with all the workshops and small buildings to go with it, a mile or so down the road was 'C Depot' which was a lot smaller, this did the same storage and maintenance of 'C type ' vehicles.
In the middle was the married quarters estate built part in the 50's and the rest in 1961, then the barrack blocks, canteen and kitchen block, NAFFI block with bar and dancehall, nissen hut guard room depot, tennis courts behind the kitchens, and the boiler house and substation blocks.
Only the 6 barrack blocks remain on the barrack site the rest was demolished in 2006, think changing health and safety played a part in that plus the grilling up of the blocks on the ground floor, its the owners covering themselved against getting sued if someone gets hurt .
Hope the photos show on this post this time round, they are the oldest photos ive seen to date of it derelict all others have been from after 2006 time
I had tried eariler to attach these photos to a write up i did as a reply to someone elses report done here recently, but its only put the text up and no photos so trying again here.
Just to clarify as many people have the history wrong on the write ups.
Opened in 1957 as central vehicle depot marchington, and was used for this only 10 years till 1967, mainly ran by military staff, you had married families in the married quarter houses didcot drive, arbourfield road, corsham place and hillsea crescent all named after barrack sites somewhere in the uk.
Then single soldiers were housed in the 6 barrack blocks, that could sleep 8 men to a room, spoke to some ex vehicle specialist men who were stationed here in the past so have learnt a lot from them about it.
After 1967 it was part used by the army for other uses into the mid 1970's, i was told again by someone who worked there the married quarters were 'marched out of' in 1976 and then sold to east staffs district council and they in turn sold them on as private dwellings.
The remainder of the site was mothballed and kept under care till it was sold to evans property of Leeds around 1980, shortly after which they set up the old B depot as marchington industrial estate but no one ever found a use for the canteen block and the six 3 story barrack blocks and they remained derelict from 1980 onwards to now hence today they are just ruins.
I first found them back in 1988 and they were in good order then, you could tell they had been derelict several years as they were broken windows even then and some damage only light though, and some items had been nicked and removed off the walls etc.
It still had the look of a place almost in use though just with long grass round it, guess 8 years derelict would be about right for the damage seen as it was well out of the way of people to find it back then.
The police did use it for dog training as i saw them on site several times into the early 90's, apart from that it was never used from the mid 70's.
I live local and have spoke to many people about the place over the years.
The site remained intact till about 1992, then spells of caravan people turned up and stripped the place of metal , vandals got in and smashed all the windows and lights, and mirrors and sinks, then it got grafitied up and its the mess its in today really.
The site is huge, the main part 'B depot' was for the storage and maintenance of B type vehicles, with all the workshops and small buildings to go with it, a mile or so down the road was 'C Depot' which was a lot smaller, this did the same storage and maintenance of 'C type ' vehicles.
In the middle was the married quarters estate built part in the 50's and the rest in 1961, then the barrack blocks, canteen and kitchen block, NAFFI block with bar and dancehall, nissen hut guard room depot, tennis courts behind the kitchens, and the boiler house and substation blocks.
Only the 6 barrack blocks remain on the barrack site the rest was demolished in 2006, think changing health and safety played a part in that plus the grilling up of the blocks on the ground floor, its the owners covering themselved against getting sued if someone gets hurt .
Hope the photos show on this post this time round, they are the oldest photos ive seen to date of it derelict all others have been from after 2006 time
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