Empty Package Store (Building 428), Museum Buildings

The Empty Package Store (Building 428) is a Grade II listed building located within the Museum Buildings at Priddy's Hard, constructed in 1896-1897. This small gabled structure is built of brick in English bond and features a slate roof supported by timber trusses. It is positioned parallel to and against the northeast end of 'B' Magazine.

The building consists of five bays, with an entrance at the north end that includes a pair of plank doors. The opposite gable features a multi-pane window. On the long east side, there are central plank doors flanked by small 18-pane lights, all with cambered heads, brick headers arranged in three rows, and stone sills.

Inside, the building has king-post trusses resting on internal brick piers, with rafters and close boarding, and a boarded floor. Originally, it was served by a narrow gauge tramway system.

Historically, this store is prominently located between the main magazine group and the Camber. It is associated with the introduction of shells into naval service, where each shell was individually packed into its own wooden box. This building is part of a series of similar rooms that form a core group of structures on this significant site.

The magazines and related buildings at Priddy's Hard date back to the late 18th century, with expansion in the mid-19th century linked to the development of land and sea artillery and the navy's transition from traditional sailing ships to the Dreadnought class in the early 1900s. Priddy's Hard is noted for having the best-preserved range of structures that reflect this important history of growth and adaptation, highlighting Britain's status as a global sea power. The Empty Package Store remains largely unchanged and is an integral part of the overall magazine operation.