Shed For Empty Powder Cases And Barrels (Building 418), Museum Buildings, To Sw Of Camber

This is a barrel and powder-case store, now part of the Museum complex at Priddy's Hard, dating from 1859. It is constructed of brick in a Flemish garden wall bond, with a slate roof on a composite timber and steel frame. The building is a hipped shed oriented north-south, attached to the Rolling Way and with its long west side adjoining the Empty Powder Case Store (Building 312). Some original two-light, six-pane casement windows remain, one on the short end facing the Rolling Way, and two to the east, with a door opening onto the Camber. The brick walls are painted internally, and the collar rafter roof, which features close boarding and is unusually not limewashed, is reinforced with suspension and tie rods arranged in a seven-bay format. A new opening has been created in the south end.

Historical records indicate that this was one of several stores at Priddy's Hard, which were associated with the introduction of shells into naval service, where each shell was initially packed individually. The building was originally timber-framed and clad, but was rebuilt in brick by 1865. It is speculated that the original roof structure was lifted and reused on the new brick walls, explaining the roof’s unusual compound form and the insertion of suspension and tie rods at that time. The Rolling Way, connecting the Laboratory magazine and former shell-filling rooms to the 'C' Magazine (Building 435), passed through this building as part of the shell-filling system established in the 1860s.

The magazines and associated structures at Priddy's Hard have their origins in the late 18th century, with significant expansion from the mid-19th century linked to developments in land and sea artillery, and a transition in naval power. The site demonstrates Britain’s dominance as a sea power over a period of continual enlargement and adaptation.