Expense Magazine With Associated Traverse Walls For Shell Filling Rooms

The Expense Magazine at Priddy's Hard, built in 1886, is a Grade II listed structure designed for holding small quantities of powder used in the nearby shell filling rooms. Constructed of brick in English bond, it features traverse walls in English garden wall bond.

This small gabled building has a pair of plank doors with a segmental brick arch above, along with a vent. The eaves bands are present on the returns, and there is an additional vent at the rear. Drawings indicate that the building has a barrel vault beneath the outer roofing. The enclosing battered traverse walls are faced with brick over a rubble or concrete core, with chamfered tops. These walls slope down on either side of the building, and the traverse front is bowed, with the return walls also sloping down. The interior is vaulted.

Historically, this magazine is a unique surviving example of an ordnance depot expense magazine, integral to the shell-filling complex that includes the shell filling rooms built outside the 18th-century defenses. The surrounding earthworks are part of a Scheduled Ancient Monument area. The magazines and related structures at Priddy's Hard date back to the late 18th century, with the site's expansion in the mid-19th century closely linked to advancements in land and sea artillery and the navy's evolution from traditional sailing vessels to the Dreadnought class in the early 1900s. Priddy's Hard showcases the best-preserved range of structures reflecting this significant history of growth and adaptation, highlighting Britain's maritime dominance. For more historical details, refer to the description for 'A' Magazine.