Yardley Chase
Encyclopedia
Yardley Chase is a fairly large forest
in Northamptonshire
(England
), which consists of two similar shaped forests, which are each about 2 miles (3.2 km) long, and 1 miles (1.6 km) wide, in places. The forests are about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Yardley Hastings
in Northamptonshire
, and about the same distance north of Olney in Buckinghamshire
.
to store bombs. They continued in use after the war, until the 1990s when the Ministry of Defence
shut them down when it became obvious that they would be useless in a nuclear war
. The site was served by a branch of the Northampton-Bedford railway line and evidence of revetted tracks are still visible around the site which is only a few miles east of the former depot of the Northamptonshire Regiment
and later Royal Pioneer Corps
at Simpson Barracks in Wootton
. The site also has numerous small bunkers within it and is criss-crossed by barbed wire fences once past the main perimeter. It has several tracks that lead to the various bunkers and fair amounts of military debris (mainly used pyrotechnics) scattered around it.
The Eastern munitions site is larger than its western neighbour and the bomb storage buildings, in addition to being less numerous, are also mostly surrounded by water-filled moats. The storage buildings at the western site are surrounded by earth banks. The eastern and western sites were connected by a rail track.
The site is nowadays used by Army, Navy and Air cadets, as well as the Territorial Army units for basic skills training and field-craft. This site is closed to the public. The ACF use the training area on a regular basis along with CCF units from nearby Schools at Wellingborough & Oundle. Naval cadets from TS Invincible (Bletchley Park
) also use the site for on-shore field-craft. It is also used by the air cadets from Wellingborough and Rushden for fieldcraft weekends.
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
(England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
), which consists of two similar shaped forests, which are each about 2 miles (3.2 km) long, and 1 miles (1.6 km) wide, in places. The forests are about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Yardley Hastings
Yardley Hastings
Yardley Hastings is a village in the English county of Northamptonshire. It is located south-east of the county town of Northampton and is skirted on its south side by the main A428 road to Bedford.-History:...
in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, and about the same distance north of Olney in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
.
Military use
Yardley Chase contains some large concrete huts, about 12 metres (39.4 ft) long, and about 6-8m (20–25 feet) wide, which were used during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to store bombs. They continued in use after the war, until the 1990s when the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
shut them down when it became obvious that they would be useless in a nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
. The site was served by a branch of the Northampton-Bedford railway line and evidence of revetted tracks are still visible around the site which is only a few miles east of the former depot of the Northamptonshire Regiment
Northamptonshire Regiment
The Northamptonshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1960. Its lineage is now continued by The Royal Anglian Regiment.-Formation:The regiment was formed as part of the reorganisation of the infantry by the Childers reforms...
and later Royal Pioneer Corps
Royal Pioneer Corps
The Royal Pioneer Corps was a British Army combatant corps used for light engineering tasks.The Royal Pioneer Corps was raised on 17 October 1939 as the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps. It was renamed the Pioneer Corps on 22 November 1940...
at Simpson Barracks in Wootton
Wootton, Northamptonshire
Wootton, Northamptonshire is a village about south of Northampton town centre and now part of the Northampton Borough Council area.The village is separated from Hardingstone by the Newport Pagnell Road the B526, formerly part of the A50 road...
. The site also has numerous small bunkers within it and is criss-crossed by barbed wire fences once past the main perimeter. It has several tracks that lead to the various bunkers and fair amounts of military debris (mainly used pyrotechnics) scattered around it.
The Eastern munitions site is larger than its western neighbour and the bomb storage buildings, in addition to being less numerous, are also mostly surrounded by water-filled moats. The storage buildings at the western site are surrounded by earth banks. The eastern and western sites were connected by a rail track.
The site is nowadays used by Army, Navy and Air cadets, as well as the Territorial Army units for basic skills training and field-craft. This site is closed to the public. The ACF use the training area on a regular basis along with CCF units from nearby Schools at Wellingborough & Oundle. Naval cadets from TS Invincible (Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
) also use the site for on-shore field-craft. It is also used by the air cadets from Wellingborough and Rushden for fieldcraft weekends.