Tutbury Castle and the Fauld explosion

Just after Christmas, we went visiting rellies, and stayed in Rolleston-on-Dove. We drove through Tutbury,

….a large village of about 3,000 residents surrounded by the agricultural countryside of Staffordshire and Derbyshire. There are some fine Georgian and Regency buildings and the half-timbered Dog and Partridge Hotel. There are antique and craft shops in the village as well as factory shops at the two glassworks

The village is dominated by Tutbury castle.

We went for a drink in The Cock Inn, Clifton, Asbourne, which has been rebuilt since it was a casualty of The Fauld explosion in 1944.

On the 27th of November, 1944, 4,000 tonnes of bombs stored at an underground ammunition depot at Fauld in Staffordshire were detonated. The blast destroyed two farms and decimated a large part of the nearby village of Hanbury and 70 men and women lost their lives.

The Old Plaster Mines at Fauld were used for bomb storage sometimes well over 20,000 tons of them. On the 28th November, 1944 it blew up. Approximately 4,000 tons exploded killing 70 people. The smoke and dust were like a giant mushroom was said to have reached eleven miles in to the air and it took rock, earth and bricks five minutes to fall back to earth. There was a farm, the farmer, his wife and farm hands just disappeared with no trace. There were a few dead animals. The village hall was completely wrecked, plus the Village Pub – the Cock – was very badly damaged. Both were eventually rebuilt, but all that’s left of where the farm was is a massive crater – there are signs of trees growing in places. It was said to be the biggest ever explosion before Hiroshima in Japan, it was recorded in Geneva and Italy.