# Officers houses (central ordnance depot branston burton on trent)



## odeon master (Aug 29, 2008)

this post relates to the now demolished army officers houses at the side of branston ordnance depot.BURTON ON TRENT.
the photo's date from around 1990/91
HISTORY.
branston ordnance depot was set up in 1939 by the army at the outbreak of WW2. originally it was constructed as an artificial silk factory early in the 20'th century, then it became a machine gun factory in the first world war.
the most famous use was when the BRANSTON PICKLE FACTORY had their factory there, hence the name !
the military still have a presence there today ,but only as the home office supply and transport store for the prison service.
most of the buildings are still up in the depot but out of use now.
these 6 houses were for the top brass in the military. they were 5 to 10 bedroom luxury detached houses constructed in the 1950's. they were built to a very high standard.
its such a shame digital cameras were not out then as i have no internal shots as it was too dark.
inside there was a paneled oak staircase , and all the rooms were huge.
its such a shame they were demolished, they encapsulate a style that i'm really into. 
the house shown was the last one left in one piece when i got there, it was NO.1 HILL ROAD and a major robertson lived there. 
i think they had been empty since the early 1980's. a horrible housing estate has now been built on these once elegant 50's houses, such a waste.


hope you enjoy these pics of a bygone era







SHOWING THE RING ROAD AROUND THE 6 HOUSES. ALL LAID OUT IN SPACIOUS GROUNDS





NUMBER 1 HILL ROAD





THIS HOUSE HAD REAL LEADED LIGHT WINDOWS AND OAK BEAMS IN A TUDOR STYLE





NOISEMETALRICH IN THE DOORWAY ! THESE WERE SOLID OAK BEAMS, NOT THE FAKE PLASTIC ONES YOU GET IN HOUSES TODAY.





THIS WAS ANOTHER HOUSE BUT IT WAS ALREADY HALF DEMOLISHED.
NOTE ALL OF DRAKELOW POWERSTATION IN THE BACKGROUND. ALSO ALL DEMOLISHED.
SEE MINE AND NOISEMETALRICH POSTS ON THAT


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## Foxylady (Aug 30, 2008)

I totally agree with you about the elegance of those style of houses. Such a shame they've been demolished. Interesting bit of history too. Cheers.


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## hammerhead (Aug 30, 2008)

*Officers House*

I used to live just outside Burton, what a real shame there tearing the place apart. Good photies though.


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## thompski (Aug 30, 2008)

Ahh good stuff there Odeon Master, indeed these are nice houses - when I visited the area a month ago I noticed that the smaller houses were still intact and in use however the depot warehouses were boarded up, what's going to happen to the warehouses?

Drakelow Power Station looks quite eerie in that last photo, I wish I remembered it


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## odeon master (Aug 30, 2008)

thompski said:


> Ahh good stuff there Odeon Master, indeed these are nice houses - when I visited the area a month ago I noticed that the smaller houses were still intact and in use however the depot warehouses were boarded up, what's going to happen to the warehouses?
> 
> Drakelow Power Station looks quite eerie in that last photo, I wish I remembered it



cheers foxy, glad you agree .

thompski, the smaller houses were the married quarters for regular married squaddies.
now all sold off and in use as private houses.
wish i could get round the depot to take some pics of the buildings there,but several buildings are still in use so you carnt go look
maybe oneday


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## sqwasher (Sep 1, 2008)

Fascinating pics & history-that last pic with the cooling towers in the background looks almost surreal.


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## Minter (Sep 4, 2008)

I love this sort of stuff, really find it interesting. Such a waste - absolutely no need to demolish such lovely houses, I mean they wern't even that old when those photos of yours were taken... Say built in 1950 so thats only around 40 years old which is nothing for houses of that quality. Sad.


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## thompski (Sep 4, 2008)

odeon master said:


> cheers foxy, glad you agree .
> 
> thompski, the smaller houses were the married quarters for regular married squaddies.
> now all sold off and in use as private houses.
> ...



You can walk around the outside of the buildings, however as far as I know they are very well sealed up.


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