The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-03 00:00:00

Government Powder Magazines,

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With the impression caused by the explosion of
Messre. Ha powder magszines at Erith still
freak on the public mind, a brief notice of the Go-
vernment magazines is the South 'West District
cannot be otherwise than interesting, and will serve
as an appendix to the article on " The Powder
Magazines at Purfleet" in The Sun of the 19th ult.
The Government magazines in the SouthaWest
Dietrict are three in number—Marchwood, Tipnor,
and Priddy'salaard. Marchwood is the largest
magazine in the kingdom, the greatest receiving
store from Parfleet, and has a storage capacity for
76,000 barrels of powder, each containing 1001 b.
"fipnor is the depot magazine for Portsmouth, and
has a storage capacity for 22,000 barrels. Priddy's-
hard is the issuing magazine for Portsmouth, and
is the only one of the three establishments where
manipulation of powder can be truly said to take
place. It has a laboratory within its walls, and is
closely situated to the Portsmouth dock and Royal
Clarence victualling-yards. There are also the shell
magazines within the walls of the Gun-wharf,
which can be at once disposed of here by saying
that, although they are situated close to the engine
house of the Gun-wharf factory, yet as each shell
is closed with its metal cap and enclosed in its own
wooden be:, they lie there in perfect security.
The doors are double, as is the case with all maga-
zines, and every time they are opened a man is
specially stationed with a supply of water to throw
on any suspicious looking matter that might alight
at or near the doors from the direction of the fac-
tory chimney or boiler house. Under these circum-
stances, the care of the Portsmouth Gun-wharf
shell magazines, and the safety of that este.
blishment and the towns of Portsmouth and
Portsea, so far as the storage of shell in the
Gun-wharf is concerned, may be safely consigned
to the care and supervision of the resident mill.
tarp storekeeper and his staff. The removal of
the lightning:conductors from the roofs of the maga-
zines to positions round and above them would add
to their security. There is, of course, an immense
amount of powder, loaded shell, rockets, kc., in
the magazines of the fortifications round Ports.
mouth, and also on board Her Majesty's ship Ex-
cellent in the harbour, and on board such of Her
Majesty's ships as may be anchored at .Spithead—
but with this material it is not intended to deal at
present, our further remarks being confined simply
to the magazines at Tipnor, Marchwood, and
Priddy's•hard.
At the extreme point of a long and narrow strip
of salt marsh which projects from the island of
Portsea into the shallows of the northern extremity
of the waters of Portsmouth harbour, within half
a mile of the left flank of the defensive lines of
Hilsea, and nearly opposite the ruins of Porchester
Castle, stand theTipnor magazines. Their distance
by road from Portsmouth dockyard is about 31
miles, but in a straight line across the water they
were not more than two miles distant. No public
waterways pass near them, so that they are per-
fectly free from danger from passing vessels, while
the general aspect of the situation is sufficiently
uninviting, winter or summer, to check the curio-
sity of the waterman's freight of any passing wherry
The approach to the magazines by land is for the
last mile through rugged lanes, over the peninsula
of salt marsh referred to, and with two solitary
exceptions, free from human habitations, and there•
fore nearly as perfectly isolated on its land as on
its water approaches. At some 500 0r,600 yards from
the extremity of this strip of salt marsh a high
gate thrown across the road, and connected right
and left with a lofty palisading reaching to high.
water mark on either side, marks the boundary of
the establishment. A short distance within these
gates are the outer buildings of the establishment
comprising the residence of the superintendent,
the residences of six magszise men, the barrack
for the detachment of '6O soldiers and their com.
mending officer quartered on the establishment,
with the necessary canteen and other offices. Pass-
ing on beyond these buildings another barrier,kept
locked night and day and under charge of a sentry,
has to be passed. Directly inside this bar rit r stand,
right and loft, two low one storied buildings—the
(Ace and guard room—and a little in advance of
these the engine house, &e., the latter close to the
high brick wall that encircles the magazines. Pass-
ing along the western side of this wall another bar-
rier, locked and guarded by a sentry, has to be
passed before the visitor reaches the entrance to the
magazine and its small wooden planked jetty,
alongside which the vessels of the War Department
discharge and receive their cergeje. The planking
is pegged down with wooden kegs, and the barrows
which transport the powder to and from the maga-
zines are of the form used at Puifi eat and other
Government establishments of the kind. It was
satisfactory to find on inquiry that an order of the
most peremptory nature is in force in the Pees
mouth, or Sauth•West District, prohibiting fire or
lights of any kind on board any vessels belonging to
the War Department is the district engaged in the
transport of powder, or other combustible materiel,
whether the vessel is empty or loaded. '1 ho order is
but of recent date, and it is uncertain whether it is
yet in existence at all other stations. The Tipnor
magazines differ materially in external appearance
from those at Purfieet, ttinding at a greater alti-
tude from the level of the ground, and being plenti-
fully supplied with windows, in the latter particular
differing altogether from the Purfl,et magPzinee,
which haue no windows. The entrance to the maga-
z ne proper at Tipnor is about 100 feet from high
water mark, that being as near as possible the dis-
tance from the double doors of the magazine to the
outer edge of the jetty, About 30 feet are taken up
by the jetty, and the remaining 70 are occupied
with a covered passage and ante-rooms leading up
to the double door entrance. At the outer entrance of
this covered piseage are two small rooms, one on the
right being the room where all persons enteriugthe
magE.z.no change their own feet coverings for the
brown leather magazine boots,and comply with other
precautionary regulations, as at Put fleet. The op-
posite chamber has its floor covered with hide, and
is termed the cooperage. Here all powder barrels
or eases suspected of being faulty, when such are
met with, aro examined and repaired by the cooper
of the establishment, or the powder shifted into
other barrels. Owing to this latter operation being
performed there this:room is sometimes called the
" shifting-room." The passage is divided by four
doors, at intervals, from the double doors at the
entrance to the magazine, and right and left along
this passage are stored empty casks and cases.
Entering the magazines, it is perceived as soon as
the eye gets accustomed to the gloom of the place
that what appeared to be two buildings adjoining
each other in their outward wens is in reality but
one vast building, with a dividing wall and double
doors transversely reeoss its centre. The building
is bombproof, and a continuous vista of arches can
after a time be seen extending in all directions over-
head, springing from piers of immense strength,
which rest on the foundations at abort intervals.
The Game strict regulations and surveillance exist
inside the Tipnor magazines which are to be found
at Pur fleet, and have hitherto been attended with
the same good results. It is said by those who have
been attached to the magazine for years (and it is a
peculiar feature that the majority of the men ems
ployed in Government magazines belong to what
are termed " magazine families "—that is, they
have been born and reared on magazine ground, on
which their fathers have been born and reared
before them) that a grain of loose powder has
never been seen on its filar. This may b a an
exaggeration, but certainly a carefully-applied
application of the brush in one of the passages
brought not even dust, and, as the magazine is
swept through every time powder is received or (Es.
charged, and also at fi ed intervals, it is not pro-
bable any spilt grains would remain long enough
on the floor for observation. The magazine now
contains 80,5001 b of loose powder in barrels of the
F.G., and A,4. descriptions, and 143,7101 b of
the same kind in metal cases in flannel bags, in all
100 tons. There are lodged for the Royal Artillery
10,000 lb of powder in barrels, and 76,4001 b in com-
mon cartridges, In made-up cartridges there are
918,0001 b made up for large ordnance, and 76,3681 h
for small arms, giving a grand total of the contents
of the magazine as 1,277,3701 b, or 570 tons; The
storage capacity of the magazine is a little over