Government requisition of buildings

[Coromandel]

While delving into the archives at Witney & District Museum I found a crumbly 1947 newspaper cutting about a recent property sale. It referred to the building in question having been 'held on requisition by the War Department during the war.'

Does anyone have any idea if I can find out whether the War Dept did use the building and, if so, for what?

[Mutley]

Maybe the National Archives can help?
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/r...ioned-land.htm

[AnnB]

Maybe in an earlier edition of the newspaper?

Best wishes
Ann

[sniper617]

You could also try the local record office in Oxford. What sort of building is it?
Sniper

[Coromandel]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I will let you know how I get on with the search.

What sort of building is it?

It's a large-ish house in Witney town centre.

[arthurk]

There's a brief account of Witney in WWII at
www.
british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=116953
where it is said that a Civil Defence headquarters was established at Woodgreen. "Parts of the grammar school grounds, Marriotts Close, the Mount House, and the Corn Exchange" are also mentioned as having been requisitioned, the last as a social centre for entertaining the troops. Does that help at all?

Arthur

[Coromandel]

Thank you, Arthur: I had forgotten to check the VCH, even though I have a copy out of the library at the moment!

The house I'm trying to find out about isn't on the list in the VCH (it is on Church Green, but at the opposite end from the grammar school and Mount House). It isn't entirely clear which part of footnote 453 relates to which bit of information in the text: however, by a process of elimination I think the requisitioning information must be from the Urban District Council records at the Oxfordshire History Centre. I shall have a look at them next time I'm in Oxford.

Thanks again.