Site Event/Activity record ECH7087 - Historic Building Investigation: Weston PoW Camp, Snape Farm, Snape Lane, Weston, Cheshire East

A level 3 building survey was undertaken in 2021 at Snape Farm in Weston, near Crewe, in advance of proposed development. The site is a former Prisoner of War camp comprising numerous temporary structures which will be demolished as part of re-development. Documentary evidence suggests that the camp originated in 1940 as a searchlight and heavy anti-aircraft battery to form part of the defence of Crewe, protecting the town’s industries and railway infrastructure that were vital to the war effort. The anti-aircraft battery was designed to house six concrete gun emplacements, and foundations measuring 12 feet square by 6 feet deep were laid out. The accommodation for the crew manning the battery is thought to have been established near Snape Farm, although there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that the guns were never actually installed and thus the accommodation was not utilised. Its availability, however, coupled with the lack of use of the site as a gun emplacement, led the War Office to requisition 30 acres of land from the owners of Snape Farm in c. 1942 to construct a Prisoner of War camp. This was intended to house 200-300 prisoners. The camp was eventually returned to the owners of Snape Farm, who utilised all the buildings for agricultural purposes, including grain storage. The original camp contained c. 35 huts, with 23 huts surviving in some form at the time of the archaeological survey. The surviving huts occurred in two types: ‘Curved Asbestos’ huts that were used as living quarters for the prisoners; and Nissen huts that formed communal areas and the warden’s quarters. The huts comprised concrete floors and brick ends, suggesting that they were a permanent fixture on the camp, as portable-style huts typically had timber floors and ends. (1)