Who we are

Once known as The Royal Ordnance Depot, the complex was built as a secure place to store equipment, ammunition and weapons for use by the British Army. The Depot fulfilled its function from the Napoleonic Wars through to the end of National Service and serviced every major conflict in-between.

 Access to the complex was strictly controlled, and the work carried out inside was kept secret. The striking Georgian footprint of the site, with its perimeter wall, bastions, storehouses, powder magazines and gatehouses, was complete by 1810. The Ordnance Canal spur provided a link between the Depot and Weedon Wharf on the Grand Junction Canal.

 The original complex incorporated Artillery Barracks and a Parade Ground along with the Officers’ accommodation, stabling for regimental horses, a hospital and a police station. For a short time there was even a military prison on site.

In all, the allotments for soldiers, married quarters, accommodation for the Depot Fire Brigade and senior staff, canteen, walnut plantations (for gun stocks), horse jumps, workshops, a gas works, a water tower, offices, the railway spur and (during the Second World War) numerous Nissen huts occupied an area of 120 acres.