Site record MDR15039 - Site of Second World War Internment Camp, West of Over Hide Farm, Hartington Nether Quarter

Former site of possible Second World War internment camp, west of Over Hide Farm, Hartington Nether Quarter, some buildings still standing. A local resident supplied the following information: 'Buildings used for housing Italian prisoners of war during World War II. The outline of associated gardens are also still visible. Quite a lot remains, but there is some concern over recent neglect [in 2014]. Gardens, which are believed to have been created by the prisoners, can be seen from the vantage point of the Tissington Trail running alongside the site. (1-2) A heritage assessment of the camp was produced in 2022: 'Approximately fifty metres north of the railway bridge carrying the Tissington Trail and on its eastern side are the brick and concrete foundations of three huts, built parallel to the line of the former railway. Research identifies that these were built after 1920 and had been reduced to foundations by the mid 1950s. While the precise dates, function and form of the huts cannot be confirmed, they appear most likely to be part of a WWII Anti-Aircraft searchlight battery established in April 1941 to protect the railway line and the important RAF munitions depot further north at Harpur Hill. The exceptionally well preserved earthwork remains of the battery itself can be found a short distance outside the study site to the north-east. The huts would have been the accommodation for the Royal Artillery soldiers manning the battery. Hut designs of this period had both a limited lifespan, and also could be disassembled and moved, either way they had gone save for the foundations by 1955. To the southeast of the former railway bridge over the main road into Biggin is a roughly rectangular walled enclosure containing four standing huts and two brick and concrete hut platforms (the foundations of missing huts), along with concrete paths and tracks. The huts are concrete-framed Ministry of Works Standard Huts designed in 1942 and built in significant numbers from 1943 onwards. Documentary and local knowledge confirm that the site was erected as a hostel to house Prisoners of War who were put to work to meet the needs of British agriculture and industry during WWII. Initially occupied by Italians from early 1943, by 1946 German PoWs were housed here under minimal security and surveillance. Local newspaper reports and collected Biggin PoW Camp, Derbyshire. Anecdotal evidence provide interesting insights into the relationships of both locals and authorities to PoWs at the time. Following the repatriation of PoWs by 1948, the camp was used by the Derbyshire War Agricultural Executive Committee to house farm workers, many of whom were Irish immigrants. By the early 1950’s the site was used as a canteen for the local school before being returned to the land owner and spending the next several decades in agricultural use. Previous assessment of the site has suggested that aside from the WWII concrete framing the cladding, roofs and windows have been replaced during agricultural use in the 1960s, while there is evidence of alteration and repair in this period, much of the fabric is however likely to be contemporary with WWII. The huts have been vacant for several years, apart from some agricultural storage and workshop use. Of the original six huts constructed on site, four remain with the two most easterly huts having been demolished between 1955 and 1975. The surviving huts are now in fast deteriorating condition.' (3)