Powder Magazine at Snibston Colliery

A purpose-built explosives store, part of the mid-C20 development of the Snibston colliery, completed between 1947 and 1951.

MATERIALS: red brick, with plain concrete dressings and a bitumen-coated flat roof.

PLAN: a single-cell, rectangular plan with compartments for separated storage of explosives.

EXTERIOR: the Powder Magazine is located immediately to the north of Winding House No 2. The building is single-storeyed, with single doors at each end of the front (north) elevation, and a series of seven small window openings with glass block glazing beneath a continuous lintel band set between the two doorways. The remaining elevations are devoid of openings.

INTERIOR: the interior is divided longitudinally by a continuous counter from which explosives were dispensed. The two doorways were apparently arranged for an 'In' and 'Out' passage through the building; those with explosives departing from the other end of the building to the doorway used to enter. Behind the counter on the south side are a series of compartments set into an internal wall, separating the dispensing area from the explosives storage area. At the east end of the building, beyond the end of the counter is a small, separate room with an open-fronted storage unit with numbered individual compartments. Against the east end wall is a further storage unit. The Powder Magazine stored explosives and detonators in a secure and carefully- monitored environment, and was used to distribute materials and to receive and arrange for the disposal of unused explosives.