Ministry Of Defence Building L154 (Expense Magazine)

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.