Timber Seasoning Store, South

The Timber Seasoning Store, located in Chatham Dockyard, was designed in 1771. It features a weatherboarded timber frame set on a brick plinth, topped with a corrugated asbestos roof, and has a rectangular plan. The building is a single storey with a nine-gable roof. It has a regular layout with double doors in the gables, which are louvred above, and slatted sides that include five metal-framed windows.

Inside, the store is three bays wide and has bracketed posts, racks for stacking sawn timber, and timber trusses. This structure was introduced on the orders of the Earl of Sandwich to address the issues of using green timber in the Navy's ships, which led to high maintenance costs. The Navy Board created an early example of modular design, with many similar buildings constructed at the Navy's yards. Most of these structures became obsolete by 1860, making the two remaining at Chatham, including this one, significant survivors.