Wartime Wednesday: Britain's Requsitioned Homes

Wartime Wednesday: 

Britain's Requisitioned Homes

Arundel Castle: Pixabay/Roman Grac

In a recent episode of Moments in History I discussed how the British government requisitioned thousands of manor homes from the country’s well-do-to and members of the peerage. The uses were as varied as the houses themselves, but the military acquired the vast majority; the Air Ministry inhabiting 20,000 alone. Are you familiar with these properties?

Arundel Castle: Located in Sussex, the medieval Arundel Castle was established in 11th century by Roger de Montgomery, cousin to William the Conqueror. Extensive damage was done during the English Civil War in the mid-1600s, and repairs and restoration did not begin until 1787. Fully completed in 1900, it was one of the first English country houses to be fitted with electric light, integral firefighting equipment, service lifts and central heating. The gravity fed domestic water supply also supplied the town. The estate covers 16,000 acres and was front line defense when an invasion of England’s south coast was thought to be imminent. Redoubts were built and anti-aircraft guns brought in. The banks of the moat were reinforced with brick-build emplacements, and a concrete pillbox was constructed at the end of the lake. Battle training, including tank and live ammunition, occurred day and night for the entirety of the war. Damage to the property was extensive, and it was not fully restored until the mid-1900s.

Blenheim Palace: The ancestral home of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Blenheim Palace was

Blenheim Palace: Pixabay/averynichols

constructed on 2,000 acres (3.125 square miles) as a reward for John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough because of his win over France and Bavaria during the Battle of Blenheim in 1704 (War of Spanish Succession). One of England’s largest houses, the palace is in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, about two hours northwest of London. During WWII, the 400 boys from Malvern College, a boarding school for students aged 9-18. MI5 also took up residence after their London headquarters was bombed in September 1940. Trials of two prototype landing craft manufactured at the Morris car factory were conducted in one of the estate’s lakes, however, reports indicate neither vehicle was further developed. One source indicates the project was one of Winston Churchill’s “pets” because he wanted to create a counterpart to the American landing craft (DUKW).

Castle Howard: Pixabay/Peter

Castle Howard: One of the most popular of Britain’s country homes, Castle Howard attracts more than 250,000 visitors each year. Construction began in 1699 and was finally completed in 1811. Covering about 13,000 acres the estate includes the villages of Welburn, Bulmer, Slingsby, Terrington, and Coneysthorpe. From 1845 to 1950, the estate was served by its own railway station, probably the reason it was requisitioned during WWII. Shortly after the war began in 1939, the trustees gave permission to Queen Margaret’s school to occupy the premises, however large portion of the house gutted by fire in 1940, sending the girls home until the damage could be assessed and/or repaired. Fortunately, the kitchen and chapel survived, and the sleeping quarters in the northeast wing were unharmed. It was determined there were enough rooms in the western section of the south-front to serve as classrooms. Repairs would not be done to the fire-damaged portions of the property until after the war, after which the house was opened to the public since 1952.

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A Lesson in Love (part of the Strength of His Heart charitable anthology)

He thinks he’s too old. She thinks she’s too young. Can these teachers learn that love defies all boundaries?

Born and raised in London, Isobel Turvine knows nothing about farming, but after most of the students in her school evacuate during Operation Pied Piper, she’s left with little to do. Then her friend Margery talks her into joining the Women’s Land Army, and she finds herself working the land at a manor home in Yorkshire that’s been converted to a boys’ school. A teacher at heart, she is drawn to the lads, but the handsome yet stiff-necked headmaster wants her to stick to farming.

Left with an arm that barely works from the last “war to end all wars,” Gavin Emerson agrees to take on the job of headmaster when his school moves from London to Yorkshire, but he’s saddled with the quirky manor owner, bickering among his teachers, and a gaggle of Land Army girls who have turned the grounds into a farm. When the group’s blue-eyed, raven-haired leader nearly runs him down in a car, he admonishes her to stay in the fields, but they are thrown together at every turn. Can he trust her not to break his heart?

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/u/4X5JZ1