**THIS WEEK WE SAY GOODBYE TO THE OLD GUARDHOUSE**
We’ve been watching and speculating about this little building for quite a while, but demolition of the old Kempston Hardwick brickworks guardhouse is finally taking place.
The building has been standing there for decades. From the historic maps I’ve been looking through, it appears to date from somewhere between 1937 and 1961, although pinning down its exact construction date is difficult. On the posted map, you can clearly see the guardhouse sitting there on its own.
More recently, there was another reason it couldn’t simply be knocked down. Bats had been using the building, so the proper ecological process had to be followed to allow them to vacate safely before demolition could go ahead.
And now its time has finally come.
It might be rotten, infested and certainly not the prettiest building in Bedfordshire, but there is something slightly sad about seeing it disappear. As far as we know, this is the last remaining building from the old Kempston Hardwick brickworks – one final physical reminder of what occupied this enormous site before the Universal United Kingdom Resort.
By the end of this week, it could be gone for good.
Another little piece of Kempston Hardwick history disappearing as the site moves into its next chapter.
Anyone remember this building from when the brickworks was still operating?
