Had this place pinned for a while as these small overlooked military sites are right up our street.
History - This place is a bit unusual as while it's a munitions depot it was built in 1889 and is grade two listed owing to the fact that it's largely complete and considered to be a forerunner to the industrial scale munitions depots built during world war one and two.
In the Victorian period, the supply of munitions and ordinance to the British Army went through a complex series of administrative changes after the abolition of the Board of Ordnance in 1855, following the Board’s poor performance during the Crimean War. Army reforms instigated by Edward Cardwell, Secretary of State for War 1868-1874, saw a strengthening of the role of the War Office in the supply of munitions. In 1889 the War Department constructed a gunpowder magazine linked by a siding to the Selby to Market Weighton railway line, and then expanded the facility in 1890.
During the First World War, the chemical works established by Ardol Limited on Balby Road in 1904 became a Trench Warfare Filling Factory, charging chemical shells as well as producing hydrogen and hydrogenated oils for use in munitions. This plant, only located a short distance to the west on the bank of the River Ouse, may have used the magazine as a storage facility. The deport consists of multiple storage buildings and sheds and 3 cottages used to house police officers who were based on the site. I've included a map highlighting the various buildings and what I think they are and the site plan from historic England. The one building from the depot plan i haven't marked on the google map is the one that still looks active and is full of farming equipment so we left that one alone.
The explore - This site is on an active farm, most of the buildings have been used for farming purposes at some point and a couple are still in use. We had no issue wandering round and there's quite a bit to see if you like military history. A lot of the original doors and signage remain which we found cool.
Depot plan from historic England.
Satellite map with the bits we explored marked.
Gunpowder Store, built 1889.
View attachment
Sentry Post.
Various munitions stores, built pre 1905.
Corrugated sheds, built pre 1905.
Policemen's cottages, built 1889.
Thanks for looking.
History - This place is a bit unusual as while it's a munitions depot it was built in 1889 and is grade two listed owing to the fact that it's largely complete and considered to be a forerunner to the industrial scale munitions depots built during world war one and two.
In the Victorian period, the supply of munitions and ordinance to the British Army went through a complex series of administrative changes after the abolition of the Board of Ordnance in 1855, following the Board’s poor performance during the Crimean War. Army reforms instigated by Edward Cardwell, Secretary of State for War 1868-1874, saw a strengthening of the role of the War Office in the supply of munitions. In 1889 the War Department constructed a gunpowder magazine linked by a siding to the Selby to Market Weighton railway line, and then expanded the facility in 1890.
During the First World War, the chemical works established by Ardol Limited on Balby Road in 1904 became a Trench Warfare Filling Factory, charging chemical shells as well as producing hydrogen and hydrogenated oils for use in munitions. This plant, only located a short distance to the west on the bank of the River Ouse, may have used the magazine as a storage facility. The deport consists of multiple storage buildings and sheds and 3 cottages used to house police officers who were based on the site. I've included a map highlighting the various buildings and what I think they are and the site plan from historic England. The one building from the depot plan i haven't marked on the google map is the one that still looks active and is full of farming equipment so we left that one alone.
The explore - This site is on an active farm, most of the buildings have been used for farming purposes at some point and a couple are still in use. We had no issue wandering round and there's quite a bit to see if you like military history. A lot of the original doors and signage remain which we found cool.
Depot plan from historic England.
Satellite map with the bits we explored marked.
Gunpowder Store, built 1889.
View attachment
Sentry Post.
Various munitions stores, built pre 1905.
Corrugated sheds, built pre 1905.
Policemen's cottages, built 1889.
Thanks for looking.
