the old house on the hill

Another piece of Dover's heritage left to disrepair here.  This is "Bushy Ruff House".  A fine old building with lots of history dating from 1797.  Its grade two listing doesn't seem to be helping keep it well maintained though.

I made this image after hopping the fence shortly before dawn this morning.  it was a bit creepy around there which might be evident in my treatment :-).

An entry for Derelict Thursday hosted by SarumStroller

It was an important building during the war. For those interested some history below.

By 1930 Captain Conrad Jörgensen and his wife Constance, owned Bushy Ruff House. Captain Jörgensen died on 12 June 1941 age 68 years but his widow stayed on for a while, occupying part of the residence. The rest was commandeered for the war effort – World War II (1939-1945). In 1940, the Local Defence Volunteers (later the Home Guard) was formed from civilians not called up for active service. From them a small number of men, who knew their territory well, were recruited to be disruptive if the Germans invaded.
Known as the 201 Battalion Home Guard, they came under the command of Colonel McVean Grubbins of Military Intelligence. Near Bushy Ruff, a special bunker was hewn out of the hillside by the Royal Engineers and the Drellingore Platoon, commanded by Lt Cecil Lines, with George Marsh, Samuel Osborne, Thomas Holmans, Charles Fayers and Dennis Dewer moved in.


They were trained in unarmed combat, to kill silently as well as to use anti-personnel mines, plastic explosives and weapons and operated in absolute secrecy. Even their wives, friends and the local Home Guard did not know what they were doing and if the invasion had become a reality and they had been captured, they would have been treated as spies.