page_title: ROF Bishopton
section_title: Location
hierarchical_section_title: ROF Bishopton / Site / Location
caption_attribution_description: English: Dargavel House This delightful mansion is owned by BAE Systems, and formed part of the former Royal Ordnance Factory facility at Bishopton which effectively took over and adapted all the buildings on site as part of the business of manufacturing armament propellants. BAE Systems now operate this site and are preparing it for a gradual handover to civilian use. The house is in relatively good repair, and will eventually be incorporated into local community use. With thanks to BAE Site Remediation for access.
context_page_description: The Royal Ordnance Factory was a WW2 Ministry of Supply Explosive Factory. It is sited adjacent to the village of Bishopton in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The factory was built to manufacture the propellant cordite for the British Army and the Royal Air Force. It also later produced cordite for the Royal Navy. The Ministry of Works were responsible for the site. It was the biggest munitions factory the MOD had, with up to 20,000 workers.
context_section_description: The site was built on farm land acquired by compulsory purchase order. Over 2,000 acres (8.1 km²) of land from up to seven farms was used to accommodate the factory. The land included the Grade B listed Dargavel House and its grounds once owned by the entrepreneur Edward Steinkopff; the house still survives within the site boundary, as well as several former farm houses and public roads that were absorbed into the ROF site. The southern end of the site included land occupied by the former National Filling Factory (a WW1 munitions factory).
  Much of the site lies around 10 metres elevation. This was one of the deciding factors for its location, as UK explosives factories were built near to sea level to take account of their favourable microclimates. Some of the site's high-grounds were used for the nitroglycerin hills.
  Another reason this site was chosen was because of the area's high unemployment rate in the 1920s and 1930s. This meant there was a ready supply of female labour available to work in the factory. Nearby railway links also played a part in locating the factory at Bishopton.
  The site consisted of three, almost self-contained explosive-manufacturing factories; with a common administration group and workshop support service. Building work on the first factory started in April 1937, the second started in April 1939 and the third in October 1939. There was a long delay in opening the first factory due to the critical shortage of a guaranteed water supply. The site has three separate water mains: fire fighting, process water and drinking water. A guaranteed supply of about ten million gallons per day was required.
caption: The Grade B listed Dargavel House
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