Conversion to a microbrewery revives an at risk gunpowder magazine

E-Magazine is a Grade II Listed C19th gunpowder magazine located within the C17th Ramparts, a Scheduled Ancient Monument, which are all part of the wider Priddy’s Hard Conservation Area. Priddy’s Hard is believed to be the second oldest ordnance depot in the world and was a military site for over two hundred years - first becoming a fort and then an armaments depot for Royal Navy and British Army weapons, explosives and other stores. 

The building is formed of two brick barrel vaulted chambers with three metre thick brick walls surrounded by a perimeter wall and earth bank. The north chamber; which had survived with the original timber racking for gunpowder barrels, timber floorboards and overhead gantry crane all intact, has been converted into the public bar area and shop. Carefully designed interventions to create staff spaces have been located to the rear of the chamber with glazing at high level to maintain a view down the whole length of the space. The south chamber which had suffered from an earlier fire, resulting in the loss of part of the internal structure and floor, has been converted into the brewing area. In order for the brewing equipment to be installed and the effective movement of stock, an existing window opening was widened to create a new large doorway. This leads to a new external yard created by removing an area of earth bank; allowing it to be discreetly integrated into the existing landscape and minimising its visual impact. 

Visitors now enter via the front of the building where original blocked up arches have been opened  up to create better visitor flow away from back of house areas. Externally the overgrown vegetation has been cut back and grass banks reinstated to allow better appreciation of the C17th ramparts and the front courtyard simply graveled to suit the military aesthetic of Priddy’s Hard.

The adaptive reuse of E-Magazine has provided it with a new sustainable future whilst providing public access to a previously derelict and inaccessible significant building. The building now adds value to the local area, has allowed a new local business to establish and provides the perfect backdrop for a unique visitor experience.