Two unidentified sites near Brooklands

[P Bellamy]

A chap's been asking on other fora about these two sites to the east of Brooklands:
THREAD LINK 1
THREAD LINK 2

Here's an aerial photo showing the location of the two sites in relation to Brooklands:



Northern site.
There appear to be two large hangars and a number of smaller buildings, some Nissen:







Southern site.







Any ideas?

All the best,
PB

[norwichpaul]

PM Scapa he will know, as he is the Aviation chief at Brooklands Museum

[Edward C]

Hi,

Iam the chap on the other fora!

here is the info

Guys this is pretty lame but i have been wondering about it for a while so i went out to have a proper nose around today. Yes in the rain lol

Ok this site is on the seven hills road in weybridge, its a series of buildings of what i think is classic ww2 architecture - the prefab asbestos, bakelite light switches, and green military type paint and vents etc etc. there is masses of hard standing around the site and its split in 2 due to modern houses being built. Its purpose is unknown, but i presume its to do with manufacture rather than defence as there are no pillboxes etc etc but there are shelters and the buildings have a bit of an earth bank surrounding them. not like an ammunitions factory, more like a earthen wall 2-3 metres from the buildings. All the gates etc are in situ but no sign of what happened there

Anyway some pics

The main building in the site, there was evidence of approx. 15 others of various sizes but some were collapsed and some looked deliberately demo'd




The main area of the main building. This had a series of vents and chimneys and small rooms that looked as if the had machinery/plant in them at some point judging from the plinths and vents and cable runs



And this is the banking i was on about, it wasnt readily apparent in all parts of the site due to trees etc etc but it could be seen with careful study



?air raid shelters - these look very similar to the kind used at factories etc to provide protection not from a direct bombing but more from shrapnel etc.There were about 5 of these




There was also a small area with 3 or 4 wooden framed buildings in it, im not sure if these are related or an old farm or something but they seems from the concrete footings to be of a similar era


Also there was this strange building, minus walls and roof as they were in the bushes nearby lol, this room had a dozen or so cast iron pipes with holes drilled in them at regular intervals laid across the floor and all running into a central concrete conduit at one end, and terminating under the floor at the other end. The floor was a sculpted concrete bowl with the walls built around it to form a sunken floor. there was a plant room nearby



there was a set of large water or liquid storage tanks nearby aswell


anyway i took tons of photos and have looked on old maps and googled the hell out of it but am none the wiser. I have no clue what the related bits all where for, there just isnt enough of it left to work it out. Im sure its WW2 vintage though, you just kind of know when you have been to loads of WW2 technical sites etc - thats what i felt like

Anyone got any ideas?

I got soaked, i love exploring in the rain

Its very near the Vickers/brooklands airfield and there are numerous other things around, i have been told it could be a site for filling barrage balloons, or the canisters to fill the barrage balloons. plausible i suppose but im not convinced.....

any help would be great

ed

[PETERTHEEATER]

The remains of the cast-iron pipework and 'bowl' floor might be associated with an ammonia refrigeration plant. What is the location of that building?

[Edward C]

The remains of the cast-iron pipework and 'bowl' floor might be associated with an ammonia refrigeration plant. What is the location of that building?

Hi that building is here, marked on this old photo from the top of the thread.



Its now full of garden waste from the house next door

[PETERTHEEATER]

Thanks EdwardC.

If it was for refrigeration, there should be a cooling tower but nothing there. I shall have to think on it but it's vaguely familiar!

[Edward C]

Thanks EdwardC.

If it was for refrigeration, there should be a cooling tower but nothing there. I shall have to think on it but it's vaguely familiar!

on the end of the room was a chimney shaped structure, unfortunately demo'd so i dont know the dimensions but i recall its was about the same as a house chimney in diameter, height i have no idea or even if it was a chimney and not just part of the structure.

I wonder if it was a barrage balloon site, or a storage depot for the defence of Brooklands etc

A guy in new zealand told me about how his dad served on a barrage balloon site on seven hills road but i havent been able to tie that statement to this site conclusively, and the person concerned is sadly RIP

[airfields man]

I can see a 1970-73 Bedouin coloured Mk II Austin-Morris 1100/1300 in EdwardCs third photograph...sorry.

[Edward C]

I can see a 1970-73 Bedouin coloured Mk II Austin-Morris 1100/1300 in EdwardCs third photograph...sorry.

yes there is, there is also a rover at the other end of the building, and the remains of something morris outside, i think morris marina but its to rusted to tell!

[airfields man]

... and the remains of something morris outside, i think morris marina but its to rusted to tell!

That I can believe as I saw Marina+ Maxi bodies going along the line with rust on them ! before they were completed !!!!