Royal Navy Propellant Factory, Caerwent
Encyclopedia
The Royal Navy Propellant Factory, Caerwent
, Monmouthshire
, UK, (later RAF Caerwent) was dedicated to the manufacture of explosives or the storage of ammunition from 1939 to 1993.
It is a large military site and is situated north of the A48 road
four miles (6 km) west of Chepstow
and 12 miles (19.3 km) east of Newport
. Since 1993 it has been used for a variety of military and civil purposes, including field exercises, car rallying, storage and breakdown of railway vehicles, nature preservation, and playing Airsoft
. The site has its own standard gauge
railway system (linked to the national network), many private roads and a wide range of buildings, from small earth-banked stores to large four storey
lightly built brick
buildings. It is about two miles (3 km) east-west, and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-south. The perimeter road inside the security fence is, on its own, over seven miles (11 km) long.
propellants factory in 1939.
Note: The Royal Navy Propellant Factory, Caerwent, like the Royal Navy Cordite Factory, Holton Heath
, were never part of the Ministry of Supply/Royal Ordnance Factory
management chain; they were controlled by the Admiralty
. However, they were functionally very similar to Explosive ROF
s.
In the summer of 1936 the site requirements for a new factory were drawn up. The main priorities were:
Like all explosive factories of this type, a capacious supply of water was required for use in the manufacturing processes. To manufacture 150 ton
s of cordite
per week the factory would need 3 million imperial gallons (14,000 m³) of drinking quality water
per day.
In the final quarter of 19th century, the Great Western Railway
(GWR) had undertaken the engineering feat of constructing the Severn Tunnel
under the River Severn
. One of the major difficulties encountered underground was the 'Great Spring', which necessitated the pumping of over 9 million gallons (41,000 m³) of water per day, at Sudbrook
, from the western end of the tunnel, conveniently located only three miles (5 km) away from the proposed site at Caerwent. Even during the great drought of 1934 the lowest daily return was 9.1 million imperial gallons (41,000 m³). The GWR used about 1.5 million imperial gallons (6,800 m³) per day themselves, so there was always a guaranteed daily surplus of 7.5 million imperial gallons (34,000 m³).
The total area acquired was 1580 acres (6.4 km²) of land, a total of 1163 acres (4.7 km²) were enclosed within the factory fence. It was connected to the Great Western railway at Caldicot Junction
, near Sudbrook by way of a private branch line, sometimes known as the MoD Caerwent sidings; and a number of transfer sidings were laid out inside the factory fence.
The site consumed the village of Dinham which was located at the northern edge of the RNPF Caerwent.
By the end of 1940 the Main Office block was complete, and in December of that year the Unit 1 Sulphuric Acid
Factory went into production with acid mixing for the Nitrocellulose
and Nitroglycerine manufacturing. Five months later, the Pressure Oxidation Plant for the manufacture of Nitric acid
came on stream. In August 1941 the Nitrocellulose and Nitroglycerine plants were operational and were soon working 24 hours a day on a three-shift pattern. At the same time, Unit 2 of the factory was almost completed, so RNPF Caerwent was now virtually operational.
A total of £4.7 million was spent on buildings and roads, and £2.5 million on plant and equipment.
Early in the 1960s a Parliamentary
working party recommended that propellants for the three branches of the armed services should be concentrated at the Royal Ordnance Factory
at Bishopton
. The decision to close RNPF Caerwent was announced on the 25 March 1965. Production continued during the following two-year rundown phase.
expelled the US military from France in 1967. Caerwent thus became part of the US Army European 'theatre reserve stocks' under the command of the United States Army's "47th Area Support Group Reserve Storage Activity", and became known as USADA Caerwent (United States Arms Depot Activity - Caerwent) with an Royal Air Force
Liaison Party also present.
The US Army spent over £4 million constructing 300 magazines
and converting some of the former RNPF structures to conform to the required specification. The material stored included small arms
ammunition, artillery shells (up to 8"), anti-tank mine
s, grenades
, flares, and the multiple launch rocket system.
The first shipments of shells
, rockets, mines, flares and small arms ammo arrived early in 1968 with shipments arriving in lorry convoys as well as rail. The majority of lorry convoys took place at night not to cause local road disruption, along with the freight trains, as they had to fit with BR timetables. Maintenance facilities were added in 1971.
In the early 1970s the site's capacity was expanded substantially, which allowed the closure of three other munitions bases in the West Midlands
(Bramshall, Ditton Priors and RAF Fauld
) in 1973. One of the reasons Caerwent was retained was its proximity to Barry Docks
where many of the armaments entered the United Kingdom.
At this time there was also an increase of US army staff, with many of them stationed at Caerwent for a short period of time after serving in Germany and prior to returning home stateside.
There were also parties, film shows in the on-site cinema and barbecues were held for the families of local people to show them appreciation for working with the US army.
At its height Caerwent was among the larger ammunition
supply depots in Western Europe, storing over 80,000 tonne
s of conventional munitions, a substantial fraction of the US Army's European stocks. In 1990 Caerwent shipped 12,000 tons of ammunition to the Middle East
and played a critical part in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Following the change in the political climate in Europe and subsequent scaling down of operations, the US Army announced it was to close down their storage operations at the establishment in June 1992. Over 60,000 tonnes of munitions were moved out over a period of less than ten months. The last batch was removed by train on 19 July 1993. The formal closure ceremony took place on 20 August 1993.
map showing roughly 200 structures. Previous editions showed the site as completely blank, but serviced by a railway line.
Caerwent is now a major training area covering over 1500 acres (6.1 km²), capable of sustaining up to 1,000 troops. There are not only over 400 buildings and bunker
s on the site, but also an operating railway and a comprehensive road system, for logistics exercises and driver training.
The site has been used for military training and public order training by various police forces. Local farmers are allowed to graze their livestock
on the convenient areas of pasture that separate the former factory buildings.
Parts of the site have also been let for civilian usage, including driver training and car rallying
run by Forresters Car Club and South Wales Automobile Club. Part of the site is also used by an airsoft club, under the name Dragon Valley The relay races of the 2007 JK Orienteering Festival were held on the site.
Since the privatisation
of British Rail
, RNPF Caerwent like a number of other MOD
sites with internal railway sidings, has been used as a secure storage area for holding surplus locomotive
s and rolling stock
that might be returned to use. A small number of electric locomotives, particularly in the British Rail Class 86
and British Rail Class 87
, have been scrapped at RNPF Caerwent; also, British Rail Mark 2
carriages.
Scenes from two episodes of science fiction television series Torchwood
were also filmed on the base, as were scenes in the 2006 film Big Nothing
, starring David Schwimmer
and Simon Pegg
. Scenes from the Hollywood blockbuster Captain America: The First Avenger
were filmed on site in October 2010.
In 1995 the site was also used for a programme in the Scrapheap Challenge series utilising the railway scrap yard facilities to create electric, .diesel and steam powered railway locomotices
Caerwent
Caerwent is a village and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located about five miles west of Chepstow and eleven miles east of Newport, and was founded by the Romans as the market town of Venta Silurum, an important settlement of the Brythonic Silures tribe. The modern village is built...
, Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire is a county in south east Wales. The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire which covered a much larger area. The largest town is Abergavenny. There are many castles in Monmouthshire .-Historic county:...
, UK, (later RAF Caerwent) was dedicated to the manufacture of explosives or the storage of ammunition from 1939 to 1993.
It is a large military site and is situated north of the A48 road
A48 road
The A48 is a major trunk road in Great Britain. It runs from the A40 at Highnam west of Gloucester to the A40 at Carmarthen. Before the construction of the M4 motorway and the first Severn Bridge in the mid 1960s it was the principal route into South Wales. For most of its journey through Wales,...
four miles (6 km) west of Chepstow
Chepstow
Chepstow is a town in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the River Wye, close to its confluence with the River Severn, and close to the western end of the Severn Bridge on the M48 motorway...
and 12 miles (19.3 km) east of Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
. Since 1993 it has been used for a variety of military and civil purposes, including field exercises, car rallying, storage and breakdown of railway vehicles, nature preservation, and playing Airsoft
Airsoft
Airsoft is a sport in which participants shoot round non-metallic pellets launched via replica firearms.Gameplay varies in style and composition but often range from short-term skirmishes, organized scenarios, military simulations, historical reenactments, to competition target shooting events...
. The site has its own standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
railway system (linked to the national network), many private roads and a wide range of buildings, from small earth-banked stores to large four storey
Storey
A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...
lightly built brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
buildings. It is about two miles (3 km) east-west, and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-south. The perimeter road inside the security fence is, on its own, over seven miles (11 km) long.
1939 to 1965
The site was created as a Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
propellants factory in 1939.
Note: The Royal Navy Propellant Factory, Caerwent, like the Royal Navy Cordite Factory, Holton Heath
Royal Navy Cordite Factory, Holton Heath
The Royal Navy Cordite Factory, Holton Heath, , was set up at Holton Heath, Dorset in World War I to manufacture Cordite for the Royal Navy. It was reactivated in World War II to manufacture gun propellants for the Admiralty and its output was supplemented by the Royal Navy Propellant Factory,...
, were never part of the Ministry of Supply/Royal Ordnance Factory
Royal Ordnance Factory
Royal Ordnance Factories was the collective name of the UK government's munitions factories in and after World War II. Until privatisation in 1987 they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply and later the Ministry of Defence....
management chain; they were controlled by the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
. However, they were functionally very similar to Explosive ROF
Explosive ROF
An Explosive ROF was a UK Government-owned Royal Ordnance Factory , which specialised in manufacturing explosives during and after World War II...
s.
In the summer of 1936 the site requirements for a new factory were drawn up. The main priorities were:
- the establishment should not be vulnerable to air attack;
- should not be located in an industrial area, but sufficiently close to a populated area to provide an adequate workforce;
- should be close to a railway and to main roads;
- should be located on rough grassland with a gravel on sand subsoil with good natural drainage and a slope of about 1 in 30 to provide maximum safety in the highly dangerous nitroglycerine manufacturing and handling areas;
- the higher part should not have an elevation of not less than 100 ft (30.5 m) above the lowest part to limit the internal gradients.
Like all explosive factories of this type, a capacious supply of water was required for use in the manufacturing processes. To manufacture 150 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s of cordite
Cordite
Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in the United Kingdom from 1889 to replace gunpowder as a military propellant. Like gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burning rates and consequently low brisance...
per week the factory would need 3 million imperial gallons (14,000 m³) of drinking quality water
Drinking water
Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...
per day.
In the final quarter of 19th century, the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
(GWR) had undertaken the engineering feat of constructing the Severn Tunnel
Severn Tunnel
The Severn Tunnel is a railway tunnel in the United Kingdom, linking South Gloucestershire in the west of England to Monmouthshire in south Wales under the estuary of the River Severn....
under the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
. One of the major difficulties encountered underground was the 'Great Spring', which necessitated the pumping of over 9 million gallons (41,000 m³) of water per day, at Sudbrook
Sudbrook, Monmouthshire
Sudbrook is a village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It is located 4 miles south west of Chepstow and 1 mile east of Caldicot. It lies close to the Second Severn Crossing on the Severn Estuary, and adjoins the village of Portskewett. It was largely built in the late 19th century for workers...
, from the western end of the tunnel, conveniently located only three miles (5 km) away from the proposed site at Caerwent. Even during the great drought of 1934 the lowest daily return was 9.1 million imperial gallons (41,000 m³). The GWR used about 1.5 million imperial gallons (6,800 m³) per day themselves, so there was always a guaranteed daily surplus of 7.5 million imperial gallons (34,000 m³).
The total area acquired was 1580 acres (6.4 km²) of land, a total of 1163 acres (4.7 km²) were enclosed within the factory fence. It was connected to the Great Western railway at Caldicot Junction
Caldicot railway station
Caldicot railway station is a part of the British railway system owned by Network Rail and is operated by Arriva Trains Wales. Caldicot is a small town in Monmouthshire, south Wales...
, near Sudbrook by way of a private branch line, sometimes known as the MoD Caerwent sidings; and a number of transfer sidings were laid out inside the factory fence.
The site consumed the village of Dinham which was located at the northern edge of the RNPF Caerwent.
By the end of 1940 the Main Office block was complete, and in December of that year the Unit 1 Sulphuric Acid
Sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid is a strong mineral acid with the molecular formula . Its historical name is oil of vitriol. Pure sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive, colorless, viscous liquid. The salts of sulfuric acid are called sulfates...
Factory went into production with acid mixing for the Nitrocellulose
Nitrocellulose
Nitrocellulose is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to nitric acid or another powerful nitrating agent. When used as a propellant or low-order explosive, it is also known as guncotton...
and Nitroglycerine manufacturing. Five months later, the Pressure Oxidation Plant for the manufacture of Nitric acid
Nitric acid
Nitric acid , also known as aqua fortis and spirit of nitre, is a highly corrosive and toxic strong acid.Colorless when pure, older samples tend to acquire a yellow cast due to the accumulation of oxides of nitrogen. If the solution contains more than 86% nitric acid, it is referred to as fuming...
came on stream. In August 1941 the Nitrocellulose and Nitroglycerine plants were operational and were soon working 24 hours a day on a three-shift pattern. At the same time, Unit 2 of the factory was almost completed, so RNPF Caerwent was now virtually operational.
A total of £4.7 million was spent on buildings and roads, and £2.5 million on plant and equipment.
Early in the 1960s a Parliamentary
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
working party recommended that propellants for the three branches of the armed services should be concentrated at the Royal Ordnance Factory
Royal Ordnance Factory
Royal Ordnance Factories was the collective name of the UK government's munitions factories in and after World War II. Until privatisation in 1987 they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply and later the Ministry of Defence....
at Bishopton
ROF Bishopton
The Royal Ordnance Factory Bishopton was a UK Ministry of Supply, World War II, Explosive ROF. It is sited adjacent to the town of Bishopton, Renfrewshire, in Scotland....
. The decision to close RNPF Caerwent was announced on the 25 March 1965. Production continued during the following two-year rundown phase.
RAF Caerwent - weapons storage 1967-1993
RAF Caerwent was transferred to US administration after Charles de GaulleCharles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
expelled the US military from France in 1967. Caerwent thus became part of the US Army European 'theatre reserve stocks' under the command of the United States Army's "47th Area Support Group Reserve Storage Activity", and became known as USADA Caerwent (United States Arms Depot Activity - Caerwent) with an Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
Liaison Party also present.
The US Army spent over £4 million constructing 300 magazines
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
and converting some of the former RNPF structures to conform to the required specification. The material stored included small arms
Small arms
Small arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, battle rifles, multiple barrel firearms, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light...
ammunition, artillery shells (up to 8"), anti-tank mine
Anti-tank mine
An anti-tank mine, , is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armored fighting vehicles....
s, grenades
Hand grenade
A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
, flares, and the multiple launch rocket system.
The first shipments of shells
Shell (projectile)
A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...
, rockets, mines, flares and small arms ammo arrived early in 1968 with shipments arriving in lorry convoys as well as rail. The majority of lorry convoys took place at night not to cause local road disruption, along with the freight trains, as they had to fit with BR timetables. Maintenance facilities were added in 1971.
In the early 1970s the site's capacity was expanded substantially, which allowed the closure of three other munitions bases in the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
(Bramshall, Ditton Priors and RAF Fauld
RAF Fauld Explosion
The RAF Fauld explosion was a military accident which occurred at 11:11am on Monday, 27 November 1944 at the RAF Fauld underground munitions storage depot...
) in 1973. One of the reasons Caerwent was retained was its proximity to Barry Docks
Barry, Wales
Barry is a town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. Located along the northern coast of the Bristol Channel less than south-southwest of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, Barry is a seaside resort, with attractions including several beaches and the Barry Island Pleasure Park...
where many of the armaments entered the United Kingdom.
At this time there was also an increase of US army staff, with many of them stationed at Caerwent for a short period of time after serving in Germany and prior to returning home stateside.
There were also parties, film shows in the on-site cinema and barbecues were held for the families of local people to show them appreciation for working with the US army.
At its height Caerwent was among the larger ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
supply depots in Western Europe, storing over 80,000 tonne
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s of conventional munitions, a substantial fraction of the US Army's European stocks. In 1990 Caerwent shipped 12,000 tons of ammunition to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and played a critical part in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Following the change in the political climate in Europe and subsequent scaling down of operations, the US Army announced it was to close down their storage operations at the establishment in June 1992. Over 60,000 tonnes of munitions were moved out over a period of less than ten months. The last batch was removed by train on 19 July 1993. The formal closure ceremony took place on 20 August 1993.
Present day
The base is now maintained by a small army staff as a 'Training Area' for troops from Beachley Barracks and further afield. A 'representative sample' of the bomb storage and processing structures of this vast site can now be seen on the latest Ordnance SurveyOrdnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
map showing roughly 200 structures. Previous editions showed the site as completely blank, but serviced by a railway line.
Caerwent is now a major training area covering over 1500 acres (6.1 km²), capable of sustaining up to 1,000 troops. There are not only over 400 buildings and bunker
Bunker
A military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...
s on the site, but also an operating railway and a comprehensive road system, for logistics exercises and driver training.
The site has been used for military training and public order training by various police forces. Local farmers are allowed to graze their livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
on the convenient areas of pasture that separate the former factory buildings.
Parts of the site have also been let for civilian usage, including driver training and car rallying
Rallying
Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...
run by Forresters Car Club and South Wales Automobile Club. Part of the site is also used by an airsoft club, under the name Dragon Valley The relay races of the 2007 JK Orienteering Festival were held on the site.
Since the privatisation
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
of British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
, RNPF Caerwent like a number of other MOD
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
sites with internal railway sidings, has been used as a secure storage area for holding surplus locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s and rolling stock
Railroad car
A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...
that might be returned to use. A small number of electric locomotives, particularly in the British Rail Class 86
British Rail Class 86
The British Rail Class 86 was the standard electric locomotive built during the 1960s, developed as a result of testing with the earlier Classes 81, 82, 83, 84 and 85. One hundred of these locomotives were built from 1965-1966 by either English Electric at Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows, or...
and British Rail Class 87
British Rail Class 87
The British Rail Class 87 is a type of electric locomotive built from 1973-75 by British Rail Engineering Limited . 36 of these locomotives were built to work passenger services over the West Coast Main Line . They were the flagships of British Rail's electric locomotive fleet until the late 1980s,...
, have been scrapped at RNPF Caerwent; also, British Rail Mark 2
British Rail Mark 2
The Mark 2 family of railway carriages were British Rail's second design of carriages. They were built by British Rail workshops between 1964 and 1975...
carriages.
Scenes from two episodes of science fiction television series Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
were also filmed on the base, as were scenes in the 2006 film Big Nothing
Big Nothing
Big Nothing is a 2006 British neo-noir comedy film directed by Jean-Baptiste Andrea starring David Schwimmer and Simon Pegg. It was released in December 2006, and had its premiere at Cardiff Film Festival in November 2006....
, starring David Schwimmer
David Schwimmer
David Lawrence Schwimmer is an American actor and director of television and film. He was born in New York City, and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was two. He began his acting career performing in school plays at Beverly Hills High School. In 1988, he graduated from Northwestern...
and Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. He is best known for having co-written and stared in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film...
. Scenes from the Hollywood blockbuster Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger is a 2011 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Captain America. It is the fifth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe...
were filmed on site in October 2010.
See also
- 'The Factory' A history of the Royal Navy Propellant Factory, Caerwent by Medwyn Parry
- Subterranea site visit with photographs
- Multimap map and aerial imagery
- Aerial photograph 1999
- Orienteering map 2007
In 1995 the site was also used for a programme in the Scrapheap Challenge series utilising the railway scrap yard facilities to create electric, .diesel and steam powered railway locomotices
Sources
- Bowditch, M.R. and Hayward, L., (1996). A pictorial record of the Royal Naval Cordite Factory, Holton Heath. Wareham: Finial Publishing. ISBN 1-900467-01-1.
- Cocroft, Wayne D., (2000). Dangerous Energy: The archaeology of gunpowder and military explosives manufacture. Swindon: English Heritage. ISBN 1-85074-718-0.
- Walker, Thomas A., [1888] (2004). The Severn Tunnel: Its Construction & Difficulties: 1872 - 1887. Republished 2004. Stroud: Nonsuch Publishing. ISBN 1-84588-000-5.