During the Second World War, both German and Italian prisoners were kept at stations around rural areas of Britain to help the struggling farmlands keep up with demand at a time where most young men were fighting overseas. The hostel at Penketh sits on the border of Widnes and Warrington under the shadow of the cooling towers at Fiddlers Ferry Power Plant. It was used as a hostel for several hundred captured enemy soldiers during the busiest period of the war. Though small and unbeknown by most, the remainder of the base had domestic anti-aircraft personnel and flak guns stationed to protect the crucial Burtonwood American airbase just two miles to the east. The concrete supports of each structure labelled according to the updated ordnance survey still stand, however the site is now derelict after having a series of decades of use for livestock and farming, the entire plot is slowly being taken back by nature.
