Building record 86/1/38 - Former Weedon barracks, large magazine to west of the series of four magazines in magazine enclosure

{1} Magazine. Mid/late C19. Red brick, slate roofs. 4-unit plan. Gabled. Large Welsh-slates. Brick vaulted interiors. Stone coped gables.

{3} Magazine. C1857. English bond red brick, gabled Welsh slate roofs with moulded corbels to kneelers of coped gables. Stepped eaves to side elevations. Plan incorporates four vaulted chambers, and the magazine is separted from the earlier group by an earth traverse of the same date. Segmental arches over four doorways in north elevation, with ventilators above: each has a ventilator with pulley-operated inner and outer shutters; iron outer and timber inner frames. South elevation is similar, except doorways widened late C20. Side elevations have perforated wrought-iron plates to ventilators, which are baffled internally. Interior: catenary arches to each chamber, with inserted openings to originally blind openings between.

Part of a unique planned military-industrial complex, complete with its own defensible transport system and surrounding walls. Although the magazines (drawings of 1816 in Royal Engineers Library, W140 (D38), and later plans and drawings also archived there) are smaller in terms of their individual scale than the late 18th century example at Priddy's Hard opposite the naval dock at Portsmouth (listed grade I and like the Weedon examples built to the distinctive British double-vaulted plan), as a group they had no rival until the suite of traversed magazines were built at Bull Point, Plymouth, in the 1850s (Scheduled Ancient Monument). Catenary arches were first used at Tipnor in the 1790s and then Colonel D'Arcy's magazine at Upnor. The use of traverses makes the group highly innovatory in terms of its planning, blast walls of earth (sometimes faced in brick) being henceforth a characteristic features of magazine complexes. These traverses have also uniquely assumed an architectural form.

Drawings of this magazine in Royal Engineers Library W54 (810), W55 (D45) 810, W57 (D43)). For full details of the site see description of Storehouse No 2.

{4} Powder magazines and blast houses (building numbers 21 to 18 inclusive). Traces of olive green/grey camouflage paint visible on the brick east and west elevations of these buildings but appears absent from the north and south elevations and probably also from building number 29, the westermost of the powder magazines. The painting takes the form of large rounded forms, different on each elevation. Presumed of WWI, or more likely WW2 origin?

{6} Undated photo;

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 16/188 (checked) (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<2> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), F06 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN44900.

<3> ENGLISH HERITAGE, Ongoing, National Heritage List for England, (checked) (Website). SNN107872.

<4> Cadman, G., 1996, Oral Report to SMR, (checked) (Oral Report). SNN109141.

<5> Cadman G., 2014, 20th Century Military Archaeology in Northamptonshire: Logs 1, 2 & 3, p.29 (checked) (Report). SNN104868.

<6> Photographs of buildings in Weedon Bec (Photographs). SNN114204.

Record last edited

Oct 12 2022 12:53PM