BTPJoe
Member
In 2007 the camp was designated a brownfield site and was to be sold for cost cutting measures by the Ministry of Defence. Natural England declared this a Site of Special Scientific Interest and in 2016 the MOD put the Lodge Hill and Chattenden site up for sale.
History of the site dates back to 1875 when several ammunition storage facilities were built. Nearby Upnor Castle has been storing gunpowder since 1667 and from 1875 the site needed to expand. From 1899 the storage facility was expanded with the development of the nearby Lodge Hill site, which provided space for a further dozen small magazines for storing cordite and other highly-explosive materials. For safety the structures were set apart from one another with dense woodland planted in-between to reduce the blast from any accidental explosion.
More info here: Chattenden Barracks - Beyond the Point
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Wasn't really expecting to find that much here and that's what happened! I didn't manage to get into the site as only saw a few boarded up houses and it wasn't really worth it. The majority of the buildings have been demolished and the houses that are left were used for training (or so the signs say...)
I did have a nice surprised when I headed into the dense (very, very dense) woodland. Come across two underground bunkers - only small but still interesting. After walking on a bit further I come across a giant brick wall, with a large amount of it collapsed. I could easily climb over but then there was another higher fence straight ahead!
History of the site dates back to 1875 when several ammunition storage facilities were built. Nearby Upnor Castle has been storing gunpowder since 1667 and from 1875 the site needed to expand. From 1899 the storage facility was expanded with the development of the nearby Lodge Hill site, which provided space for a further dozen small magazines for storing cordite and other highly-explosive materials. For safety the structures were set apart from one another with dense woodland planted in-between to reduce the blast from any accidental explosion.
More info here: Chattenden Barracks - Beyond the Point
Explore
Wasn't really expecting to find that much here and that's what happened! I didn't manage to get into the site as only saw a few boarded up houses and it wasn't really worth it. The majority of the buildings have been demolished and the houses that are left were used for training (or so the signs say...)
I did have a nice surprised when I headed into the dense (very, very dense) woodland. Come across two underground bunkers - only small but still interesting. After walking on a bit further I come across a giant brick wall, with a large amount of it collapsed. I could easily climb over but then there was another higher fence straight ahead!