Campaigners are “absolutely gutted” after losing a battle to buy a historic Kent military building which they had hoped to turn into an international heritage and education centre.

It follows the sale of the former Sir John Moore Library at the Shorncliffe Garrison site in Folkestone which went under the hammer at a property auction last week for £156,000.

But the Shorncliffe Trust has accused developer Taylor Wimpey of “sneaking” the sale of the building through at the 11th hour, leaving them just 24 hours to prepare and submit a bid.

The housebuilding giant denies this, saying it has been in ongoing contact with the trust regarding its interest in creating a heritage and education centre.

The Grade II-listed building was opened 100 years ago to benefit the education of troops, and nearby stands a statue honouring military pioneer General Sir John Moore, who commanded a brigade at Shorncliffe in 1803.

The boarded-up building was a late entry to the Clive Emson Property Auctioneers catalogue after being submitted by Taylor Wimpey.

But the Shorncliffe Trust, which campaigns to preserve the military heritage and history of the site and hoped to buy the property from the developer, says it only became aware of the auction sale 24 hours before it was due.

Trustees claim they promptly offered the developer the starting guide price of £100,000, hoping it would be accepted and the property withdrawn from sale.

But they say their offer was rejected and they were advised to bid, though ultimately their private backer could not better the final hammer price.

The handsome-looking brick building is believed to have been snapped up by a private buyer whose intentions for the property are not known.

But auctioneer Kevin Gilbert believes the former barracks library could have a wide variety of uses, including residential, subject to planning approval.

“I am sure someone who buys a building like this does so because it’s not bog standard and they appreciate its history and features like the stained glass windows,” he added.

But Shorncliffe Trust chairman and historian Chris Shaw says: “Even though we and the local council were in discussions with the developer, the trust was not informed that this process was happening until alerted to it by a supporter on Wednesday afternoon, 24 hours before the deadline.

“The trustees are still coming to terms with this last-minute move by the developer and are absolutely gutted.”

Mr Shaw says the historic building has been abandoned and neglected.

“The developers are heartless and just don’t care,” he said.

But the trust had plans to restore and revive the former library to help “tell the narrative of the men who were based at Shorncliffe”.

The building’s listing also protects the world’s only depiction of Wellington’s Light Division featuring the coats of arms of the Commanders and Regiments who served with him during the Peninsular War.

Mr Shaw added: “Obviously we are bitterly disappointed but I would like to thank the trustees, our supporters, donors and local councillors who had faith in us and believed in what we were going to create in the building for the community, veterans and their families, as well as people from around the world whose relatives once called Shorncliffe their home, as the Royal Gurkha Rifles still do today.”

He says the trust’s goal is still to secure a part of Shorncliffe Camp and the historic environment for everyone.

“Our vision is still to create a visitors’ centre and heritage park as a fitting legacy for the 600-plus souls buried in Shorncliffe Military cemetery – tell their story,” he said.

“As long as Sir John Moore’s statue looks over Shorncliffe and this ‘green and pleasant land’ - we will carry on.”

Among the trust’s other plans was for the preservation of the former military stable blocks, once home to the Canadian Army Veterinary Corp, which cared for thousands of wounded and sick horses during the First World War.

Its campaign had the backing of War Horse author Sir Michael Morpurgo but that battle now looks to have been lost too.

“The trustees are still coming to terms with this last-minute move...”

“Unfortunately, we cannot get the demolition order overturned and it is the case that the stables would need a lot more work than the library,” said Mr Shaw.

But a Taylor Wimpey spokesman says that while an offer for the Sir John Moore Library was made by the trust to the company, a decision to proceed with a public auction was taken “to ensure other interested parties had a fair opportunity to bid”.

She added: “Preserving the history and heritage of Shorncliffe Garrison is important to the developer and has been a key consideration throughout the planning process for the scheme.

“The Sir John Moore Library is one of the original buildings that is listed and will be retained. The new owners of the building will need to apply for planning permission and listed building consent before any adaptations can be made.”

The company also says other historic buildings and structures on the Shorncliffe Heights site will be retained as key elements of the new development.

They include the water tower and the racquet court and concrete barracks building at Burgoyne Barracks, the Officers Mess at Risborough Barracks and the gates on Royal Military Avenue, which are earmarked for uses including retail, community offices and a nursery.