PoW Hostel 87 Greens Norton

Greens Norton was originally built as a Hostel for the Women’s Land Army. It was then used as a Hostel for Italian PoWs. It was later a Youth Hostel; is now Greens Norton Community Centre

Location

Greens Norton Community Centre, Towcester Rd, Greens Norton, Towcester, Northamptonshire, NN12 8BL

Description

Site Visits

March 2019

Materials

DSLR Photos
UK FO Inspection Reports

I had visited Greens Norton when it was a Youth Hostel in around 19080 and was interested to see how this site had changed. The original front of one of the main buildings containing a water tower / tank has been retained along with a fading green YHA sign. The previous prefab huts had long since gone with several modern building replacing the pre-fabs. The history of this site is well recorded in that it was built as a Hostel for the Women’s Land Army, it then became a PoW Hostel, then a Youth Hostel and is now a Communality Centre.

This site now has a number of modern buildings that look as if they are sitting on the old foundations and shape and size of the same as the wooden huts that they replaced. The brick part of the building with the YHA sign no longer connects to other buildings and now has a storage shed to its rear. Likewise, several other buildings appear to be storage.


Images of Greens Norton which was built as a Hostel to accommodate Women’s Land Army personnel, then a PoW Hostel, then a Youth Hostel and in its latest form is a Community Centre


Extracts from UK Foreign Office Inspection Report FO 939/167 PoW Camp 87 Byfield PoW Camp

Detailing an Inspection including details of Greens Norton PoW Hostel