Bruche Hall Page

Bruche hall accommodation camp is located just of Manchester road on the A57 and is 2.4 Kilometres from the town center of Warrington. The 8.7 Hectare camp was constructed during 1940/41 to provide temporary accommodation for workers at the nearby munitions factory at Risley, but it was never used as originally intended but was acquired by the United States Army Air Force as a transit camp for the nearby RAF Burtonwood station 590 aircraft maintenance depot. The site had accommodation for about 2,000 servicemen living in H-Block type buildings, the site also included ablutions, messing facilities, and a central activity hall used as a dance hall, assembly hall, theatre, and cinema. A regular truck and bus service-connected the site with RAF Burtonwood. Bruche was designed almost to the same specifications as Canada hall and the nearby Royal Navy Gosling training establishments camps located at Croft. Glazebrook, and Risley. After world war 2 in January 1946 Bruche hall became tenanted by the police and became the number 1 district police recruit training center. The police used the original wartime buildings for their purpose but over the years the site had many alterations and improvements were made making the site the largest police training center in England and Wales the police training center closed down in May 2006.

Site plan and location map

Bruche hall main entrance and

gatehouse world war 2. Credit Gene Wintersole

WWII Photo showing the tall brick constructed tower block that contained the water storage tank on the roof, an internal steel staircase gave access to the roof & also, the central activity hall with its semi-profile curved roof can be seen.

Bruche Hall Quarters in July 1942.

Credit Gene Wintersole

The tower block and main activity

hall are constructed almost to the same design as Canada hall and the nearby royal navy training establishment camps in the Warrington area. Credit Gene Wintersole

Dancing inside the

central activity hall Notice at the top of the wall in the background the cinema projection room apertures WWII Credit Victor Davies

Early post-WW2 photo of police recruits.

Note: in the background the curved profile roof of the central activity hall can be seen, next to the brick constructed tower block.

Early post-WW2 Group

photo of police in front of the ww2 buildings

Early post-WW2 photo of

police recruits with WW2 buildings in the background

Inside the central activity

hall with its curved profile roof structure

Main entrance shortly before closure.