Ministry of Defence Building L154 (Expense Magazine) is a Grade II listed building in the Epping Forest local planning authority area, England. First listed on 26 November 1993. Magazine.

Ministry of Defence Building L154 (Expense Magazine)

WRENN ID
waning-cupola-grain
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Epping Forest
Constituency
Epping Forest MP: Dr Neil Hudson (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
26 November 1993
Type
Magazine
Address
Ministry of Defence Building L154 (Expense Magazine), Waltham Abbey
OS grid reference
TL 377 012
Coordinates
51.69267, -0.00903
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Ministry of Defence Building L154, known as the Expense Magazine, is an expense magazine constructed around 1861 for the Royal Gunpowder Factory. It is built from English bond yellow brick and features coped gable ends with a felt covering over a brick-vaulted roof. The building has a rectangular plan and is a single storey. It has a chamfered brick plinth and a flat brick arch over the doorway in the side wall, which was originally served by an iron tramway. This structure was designed for the temporary storage of gunpowder produced at the incorporating mills before it was moved to the northern part of the site for pressing, moulding, and drying. Later, it was converted into a store for cordite dough, which was a stage before incorporation in the mills after their conversion for cordite production in 1898-1899.

Local climate

Ministry of Defence Building L154 (Expense Magazine) sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 97% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 98% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 31 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 63% of listed buildings. Of these, 14 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

Sign in or create a free account to unlock:

  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • No related consent applications matched
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Create free account

Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.

Similar buildings

The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.

See all similar buildings →

this building   1 similar   nearby listed buildings

Nearby listed buildings

  1. Ministry of Defence Building L153 (Group D Incororating Mills) Grade II* 32 m
  2. Ministry of Defence Building L157 (Group C Incorporating Mills) Grade I 44 m
  3. Ministry of Defence Building L148 (Group G Incorporating Mills) Grade II* 86 m
  4. Ministry of Defence Building L149 (Group E Incorporating Mills) Grade II* 96 m
  5. Ministry of Defence Building L167 at Tl 3777 0112 Grade II 101 m
  6. Ministry of Defence Building L165 at Tl 3777 0108 Grade II 116 m
  7. Ministry of Defence Building L170a at Tl 3778 0109 Grade II 131 m
  8. Ministry of Defence Building L145 (Group F Incorporating Mills) Grade II 144 m
  9. Ministry of Defence Number L168 (Engine House and Mechanics' Shop) Grade II* 150 m
  10. Ministry of Defence Building Numbers L176 (Boiler House) and L177 Grade II* 176 m