Description

ROYAL GUNPOWDER FACTORY
TL3700
3/10008 MOD Building L167 at TL 3777 0112
GV II

Charcoal store, later converted into Reel Drying Stove. 1889, converted c1898. Flemish bond yellow brick with hipped roof. Rectangular plan: originally of 9 x 2 bays, with 7-bay room to north of 2-bay south end; truncated by removal of south room. One storey. Chamfered brick plinth, stepped brick cornice and chamfered abaci to pilasters which separate bays, each spanned by segmental arches over cast-iron framed windows and double doors to west elevation. Other elevations articulated in similar style. Blocked round openings indicate the position of entry for steam pipes. Interior noted as having iron roof trusses. Significant for its association with the manufacture of cordite, which Waltham had pioneered and which in the 1890s took over as the main services explosive. The incorporating mills (qv) switched over from the manufacture of gunpowder to cordite in 1898/9. The drying stove represents the next stage in the manufacturing process after pressing, when cordite was taken here to dry on racks before it was taken to the reeling house for winding.
(RCHME report, 1993).

Listing NGR: TL3777001120

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26543070

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)