Building 63 (Empty Barrel And Case Store), Rnad Bull Point

This is an empty barrel and case store, now used as a store. It was built between 1856 and 1857. The building is constructed of limestone ashlar with rock-faced quoins and dressings, and has a corrugated sheet roof.

The building has a rectangular plan and features two gabled ends. The wide, shallow, coped gables have a central segmental-arched doorway with a recessed boarded door, and a narrow ventilation slit on either side. Three flat-headed windows with mid-20th century glazing are located above the doorways. The southwest end has a central lean-to with two doorways. The sides of the building are windowless.

The interior contains early 20th century steel trusses.

This building is one of the key functional buildings at RNAD Bull Point, part of a group built around a road extending from the magazine enclosure. It, along with Building 43, represents the most architecturally distinguished example of this type of building within the ordnance yards. Case stores relate to the introduction of shells into naval service, with each shell individually packed into a wooden box.

Bull Point, situated just north of the Royal Navy’s new Steam Yard at Keyham, was the final major project of the Board of Ordnance, which was abolished in 1856. It provided storage for 40,000 barrels of powder in an integrated complex, including a floating magazine for unloading powder and the 1805 St Budeaux laboratory for checking and processing it, before being taken to the magazines at Bull Point. Unlike other yards, Bull Point was designed from the beginning with buildings planned and dedicated to processing and storing new types of ordnance, which significantly impacted the design of naval ships and fortifications. The buildings, mostly in ashlar with rock-faced dressings and fronting an avenue south of the magazines, are stylistically consistent with the magazines themselves and represent the finest ensemble within any of the Ordnance Yards. They are consistent with the high standards of design practiced by the Ordnance Board for fortifications and barracks from the 17th century, and provide a remarkable example of integrated factory planning for the period.

For further historical information, see Building 13.