Monument record 4098 - Ammunition Storage area at Chelford

Ammunition store associated with administration buildings, decontamination buildings, blockhouses (pillboxes?) and sewage disposal plant (1). Half of the site is now covered by an extraction pit, however many of the building still survive. There appears to be a seagull trench at the site, showing on the modern Ordnance survey map and land lines, however it appears to be two huts and a ditch on the older maps and aerial photography. It would seem strange for there to be a seagull trench at this site as they are normally only associated with airfields (2).
This was probably constructed for the Filling Factory No 13 that was never constructed. It is a good example of a magazine storage area set within the landscape to present a difficult target to locate or attack from the air. The magazines were spaced at about 200yd (180m) intervals and were of a standard size, 90ft x 150ft (27.4m x 45.7m) and constructed of steel re-enforced concrete frames with brick infill and corrugated iron roofs. Access was entirely by standard gauge railway line from the main Crewe to Manchester line. Each magazine was served by a single line passing through the centre of the buildings to a dead end to allow for shunting. Completing the establishment were a military guard unit, fire station and a locomotive shed (3)

<1> CBA, 2002, Defence of Britain Project, 2275 (Digital Archive). SCH4380.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1995-2017, Ordnance Survey 1:10,000 Scale Map (Maps and Plans). SCH2427.

<3> W D Cocroft, 2000, Dangerous Energy - The Archaeology of Gunpowder and Military Explosives Manufacture, 227, 228 (Book). SCH4464.