The Fighting Sangars (contd)
Sooooo…it’s been a while as I was off on my happy hols but normal service has resumed!!!
So, as I said in my previous post, I had an ‘unofficial’ tour of Bessbrook Army Barracks. It was one of the most weirdest, scariest and eye opening experiences of my life. Bessbrook Spinning Mill was originally home to the Richardson family in 1846 but was converted by the British Army into a major military base in the early 1970s. At one time, during the Troubles, the base was reportedly the busiest helicopter airport in Europe.
What I found amazing was that the Victorian architecture of the mill outstood that of the more modern adaptations that the British Army had added when they first took over the site. In some places the buildings were completely sanitised by the army when they left- leaving no trace of at all. In other places, like the Naafi and a certain ‘meeting room’ - they were completely untouched. Also, whatever regiment were serving there at the time, painted everything in their troop colours- radiator pipes, gun cabinets etc. The last battalion to serve in Bessbrook were the 2nd Battalion Princess of Wales Royal Regiment. Their colours of red and blue were everywhere and they seeped into the next body of work (unknowingly at the time) but I will talk about that in my next post.
Some of the visual elements from the photographs, the barbed wire, the blastwalls and the pitched roofs from the linen sheds helped to inform The Fighting Sangars (below). They are three larger pieces on paper and are available to purchase here
I really want to re-visit the images and do some more work on the mill as I found the place just so fascinating!!!!
