Building 49

This is a foreman's office, printers' workshop, and store, built in 1856-57. It’s constructed from limestone ashlar with rock-faced quoins, a plinth, and doorway dressings, topped with a corrugated sheet roof. The building has a U-shaped single-depth plan. The eastern wing housed a heated foreman's office, the northern wing was used by printers, and a rear range served as a flannel cartridge store.

The exterior is single-storey and features projecting wings with one-window gable ends. The northeast front has a central entrance with a chamfered segmental arch and double boarded doors. Flanking the entrance are projecting wings that enclose a small courtyard, with two flat-headed doorways on the left side. Each gable end has a horned 6/6-pane sash window to the left and a segmental-arched doorway to the right, with small openings in the gable above. The sides have rear gables with pairs of small upper windows, and two horned sashes to the front part of the wings. The eastern wing has a truncated external chimney stack. The rear is windowless, except for a central lean-to with a half-glazed doorway facing east.

The interior of the flannel cartridge store retains original matchboard lining.

The building is one of the key functional buildings at Bull Point, part of a group constructed around a road leading from the magazine enclosure. Bull Point was the last major project of the Board of Ordnance, which was abolished in 1856. It provided storage for 40,000 barrels of powder and integrated facilities, including a floating magazine and the 1805 St Budeaux laboratory. The site enabled the processing and storage of new types of ordnance that significantly impacted naval ships and fortifications. The buildings, mainly in ashlar with rock-faced dressings, front an avenue south of the magazines and share a stylistically coherent design with the magazines themselves. They represent the finest ensemble in any Ordnance Yard, reflecting the high standards of design practiced by the Ordnance Board in fortifications and barracks from the 17th century, and provide a remarkable example of integrated factory planning. For a more detailed history, see Building 13.