'B' Magazine (North And South Stores) And Attached Passage And Boundary Wall, And Main Rolling Way And Attached Foreman'S Office, Shifting Room And Shoe Houses, Museum Buildings

'B' Magazine (North and South Stores) and Attached Passage and Boundary Wall, and Main Rolling Way and Attached Foreman's Office, Shifting Room and Shoe Houses, Museum Buildings

A group of structures related to the operation of 'A' Magazine, including a covered link (Rolling Way) for transporting powder barrels to the quay at The Camber. Built between 1770 and 1776, with later alterations and various additions. Brick with slate roofs.

The first phase comprises a wall to the south-west of the magazine enclosure and a long range known as 'B' Magazine or the North and South Stores, positioned along the north-east side of 'A' Magazine enclosure and set parallel to it. Originally this was built as two detached rooms—a cooperage and a Shifting Room (initially called Shoe Rooms, used for the examination of powder)—within the magazine enclosure and separated by an uncovered Rolling Way from The Camber. The whole structure was refronted around 1847. It is joined to 'A' Magazine by a central link building, which extends towards The Camber as the Rolling Way. In the mid and late 19th century, the flanking Shoe Rooms, Shifting Room and offices were rebuilt in brick.

'B' Magazine originally comprised two separate structures: a two-storey Shifting House for the inspection of incoming powder, and a Cooperage (which soon became another Shifting House), both dating to 1773. By 1812 these were joined by a short passage, and in 1827 a central two-storey unit was added to form a continuous range parallel with the Magazine. Between 1849 and 1856 the front was brought into a uniform line, and the central roof line was raised by 1859. The east side of the range incorporates the original traverse wall to the Magazine; the complex building history is reflected in variations in treatment and walling. The structure is built in English bond brick, including many blue headers in the earlier work, with slate roofs on timber trusses. The two-storey end sections are fenestrated on the magazine side (west) with sashes set to reveals, cambered brick arches and stone sills. Ground floor sashes have 15 panes and first floor sashes have 9 or 12 panes. There is a mid-height 3-course plat band (except to the inserted middle range) and a moulded brick former eaves course, now below an additional 1 metre of brickwork to the raised eaves. The gabled ends and back are plain but carry the mid plat-band around. The mixed brickwork, especially on the east wall, shows various stages of the building's development. Before the eventual raising, there was a broad central pediment to the east.

The Main Rolling Way dates from 1804 and was similarly rebuilt in brick with slate roof on timber king-post trusses in 1825–27. It opens to 'B' Magazine through a broad arch and has a sloping floor with broad boards running in the direction of movement. A further section was inserted, probably also in 1847, between 'A' Magazine.

The Foreman's Office and Shoe Room (for changing into specialist magazine clothing) date from 1804, probably originally in timber framing, but were rebuilt in 1847 in English bond brick with slate roof on timber trusses. This structure lies adjacent to the Rolling Way to its south and 'B' Magazine to its west.

South of the Rolling Way is a single-storey Shifting Room built after 1883 of brick with slate roof.

A small Shoe Room lies north of the Rolling Way with a similar building history. It is entered from the Rolling Way through a wide plank doorway in two unequal leaves.

The interior features plank floors. At ground floor level in the central section is a series of square posts with bracketed caps, carrying transverse beams and longitudinal exposed floor joists. A 19th-century closed-string quarter-landing stair has square newels, handrail and balusters. Walls are painted brick. At the intersection with the Rolling Way two wide segmental openings provide connection. The king-post roof trusses carry one purlin and close boarding, all limewashed or painted.

This group forms an integral part of the original magazine complex at Priddy's Hard. The magazines and related structures here date from the late 18th century. The site's expansion from the mid-19th century was closely related to the development of land and sea artillery and the navy's transition from the age of sail, powder and solid shot to the Dreadnought class of the early 1900s. Priddy's Hard retains the best-preserved range of structures relating to this remarkable history of continual enlargement and adaptation, encompassing Britain's dominance as a sea power on a global scale.