© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)
The Site of the Norman Cross Depot for Prisoners of War is a Napoleonic-era military installation located in Huntingdonshire. Established in 1797, the depot was constructed to house French prisoners captured during the Napoleonic Wars and became one of the largest prisoner-of-war camps in Britain, eventually accommodating over seven thousand men. The compound consisted of wooden barrack buildings arranged in a geometric pattern within a palisaded enclosure, reflecting the military planning typical of late eighteenth-century fortifications. Though the physical structures no longer remain, archaeological evidence and contemporary records document its significance as a major wartime facility and its role in the infrastructure supporting British military operations during the prolonged conflict with Revolutionary and Napoleonic France.
Site of the Norman Cross Depot for Prisoners of War is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1006782. View the official record →
The Site of the Norman Cross Depot for Prisoners of War is a Napoleonic-era military installation located in Huntingdonshire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1006782.
Site of the Norman Cross Depot for Prisoners of War is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1006782.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Otter Pond: moated site 200m west of Dewemede Farm (2.3 km), Earthworks of deserted medieval village (2.4 km), Deserted village of Caldecote (3.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Site of the Norman Cross Depot for Prisoners of War's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Site of the Norman Cross Depot for Prisoners of War stands on Kellaways Formation And Oxford Clay Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Oxfordian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.