ROF Bishopton
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The Royal Ordnance Factory was a
WW2 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. A separate ministry, however, was responsible for aircr ...
Explosive Factory. It is sited adjacent to the village of Bishopton in
Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...
, Scotland. The factory was built to manufacture the propellant
cordite Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in the United Kingdom since 1889 to replace black powder as a military propellant. Like modern gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burni ...
for the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
and the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
. It also later produced cordite for the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
. The Ministry of Works were responsible for the site. It was the biggest munitions factory the
MOD Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...
had, with up to 20,000 workers.


History

The explosives factory opened between December 1940 and April 1941. It was one of three propellant factories built for the
MOD Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...
. The others were
ROF Wrexham Wrexham Industrial Estate (Welsh: ) is a well defined industrial area in Wrexham. It is sited on the eastern outskirts of the city and 2.5 miles from the centre of Wrexham. Originally the site of a World War II munitions factory, the estate lat ...
and
ROF Ranskill The Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Ranskill was a United Kingdom Ministry of Supply, World War II, Explosive ROF. It was built to manufacture cordite and the site was located adjacent to what is now known as the East Coast Main Line railway at Ran ...
. Manufacturing survived on parts of the Bishopton site until 2002. The site is now owned by
BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...
, who in conjunction with
Redrow Homes Redrow plc is one of the largest British housebuilders with a network of 14 operational divisions across the UK. It is based in Flintshire, Wales and employs 2,300 people. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is currently a constituent ...
, have submitted locally controversial proposals to use the site for building new housing. This development is now underway and is known as Dargavel Village.


Site


Location

The site was built on farm land acquired by
compulsory purchase order A compulsory purchase order (CPO; , ) is a legal function in the United Kingdom and Ireland that allows certain bodies to obtain land or property without the consent of the owner. It may be enforced if a proposed development is considered one for p ...
. Over 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
microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squ ...
s. Some of the site's high-grounds were used for the
nitroglycerin Nitroglycerin (NG), (alternative spelling of nitroglycerine) also known as trinitroglycerin (TNG), nitro, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane, is a dense, colorless, oily, explosive liquid most commonly produced by nitrating g ...
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.


Factory 0

Every building on the site was numbered; one part of the number code indicated if the building was assigned to Factory 0, 1, 2 or 3. The non-explosive sectors of the site were housed in Factory 0 (mostly nearest to Bishopton itself). Factory 0 contained most of the supporting services for the site: a permanently staffed fire station with its own fire brigade; clothing department, general stores, laboratories, machine shops, general workshops, laundry, leather workshop, chemical plumber's workshop, carpenter's workshop, and ammunition box stores. It also housed the administration block, a few of the site's many canteens, ambulance station, medical centre, mortuary and the motor transport section.


Factories I, II and III

Factories I, II and III each had their own coal-fired power stations for producing high-pressure steam for generating electricity using steam-turbine-alternators; with the resulting low pressure steam used for site heating and cordite drying. The three power-stations were also interlinked by high-pressure steam mains. Each factory had three nitroglycerin hills, operating on a batch process, to produce nitroglycerin. Factories I and II (and possibly III) had their own
nitration In organic chemistry, nitration is a general class of chemical processes for the introduction of a nitro group into an organic compound. The term also is applied incorrectly to the different process of forming nitrate esters between alcohols and ...
plants for making
nitrocellulose Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...
. Nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose were then processed to produce cordite. Nearly all the buildings, with the exception of the buildings on the nitroglycerin hills which were light-weight, were steel framed buildings with triple-brick walls and bomb-proof reinforced concrete roofs. Some of the buildings in factory III, which was built last, such as the power station, were clad with corrugated iron to reduce costs. ROF Bishopton had an
RDX RDX (abbreviation of "Research Department eXplosive") or hexogen, among other names, is an organic compound with the formula (O2N2CH2)3. It is a white solid without smell or taste, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified as a n ...
plant installed at the site during World War II. The plant was declared redundant to requirements and was dismantled in 1950. It was apparently shipped to Australia and re-erected. Included within the site boundary was an
armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured car ...
storage compound. This was linked to the
REME The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's for ...
repair factory at
Linwood Linwood may refer to: Places Many of the place names for Linwood come from the presence of linden trees. Australia *Linwood, South Australia * Linnwood, Guildford, 11-35 Byron Road, Guildford, New South Wales Canada * Linwood, Ontario * Linwood, ...
.


Railways

The southern end of the site near the
River Gryfe The River Gryfe (or Gryffe) is a river and tributary of the River Cart, Black Cart Water, running through the Renfrewshire (historic), County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It gives its name to the surrounding Gryffe Valley, also known as St ...
was connected to what was then the LMS former
Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh an ...
line. The connection, just north of the former Georgetown railway station, dated back to
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the Georgetown Filling Factory. The railway connection was probably severed and the rail tracks lifted when the
Inverclyde Line The Inverclyde Line is a railway line running from Glasgow Central station through Paisley (Gilmour Street) and a series of stations to the south of the River Clyde and the Firth of Clyde, terminating at Gourock and Wemyss Bay, where it connect ...
was electrified in the 1960s. Within ROF Bishopton's perimeter fence this line was still there in the 1990s, albeit with 20- to 30-year-old trees growing between the sleepers and rails. There was also a link from the ROF railway line to the Inverclyde line. The factory had transfer sidings connected to both the up and down lines. The ROF line, which was never electrified, ran on to the transfer sidings a few yards west from the Bishopton station. It crossed Ingleston Road via a gated level crossing, entering the ROF site from the north. The link remained in-situ up until closure of the factory, but was little used after the early 1990s. There was about of
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
railway line within the perimeter fence. The factory had its own fleet of nitric acid wagons and diesel shunting locomotives. The latter were used to move wagons between the transfer sidings and various locations within the site. In addition, ROF Bishopton had some of
narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
railway lines for transporting explosives around the site. There was a large fleet of rolling stock and a specialist workshop for maintenance of the locomotives, which were kept in excellent mechanical condition. Much of Bishopton's narrow gauge railway equipment still exists, and can be seen at locations such as the
Almond Valley Light Railway The Almond Valley Light Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway running at the Almond Valley Heritage Trust site at Livingston, Scotland. The railway operates at weekends between Easter and the end of September and daily during some school ...
(six assorted locomotives) and the Amberley Museum Railway (locomotive No. 12 and several wagons).


Housing

Housing to accommodate the
Ministry of Defence Police The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) is a civilian special police force which is part of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. The MDP's primary responsibilities are to provide armed security and counter terrorism services to designated hig ...
was provided locally in Bishopton. Two streets were built to provide housing for married police officers - Holmpark and Rossland Crescent. For unmarried police, accommodation was built adjacent to Holmpark; it was used from the 1970s onwards as the MOD Police social club. Some
prefabricated houses Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term is u ...
were also built in Rossland Crescent, but these have since been demolished. Houses for essential staff, such as managers who needed to be on call, were provided on Poplar Avenue. Ingleston Drive may possibly have been built for ROF workers also. A hostel for single women workers was built in Oakshaw Street, Paisley, by the
Ministry of Labour The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...
.


Privatisation

The workforce fell from about 3,000 in the late 1970s to 2,000 at the time of privatisation in 1984.
British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...
in 1987 bought the Royal Ordnance Factories. During the 1990s, significant investment was made to the site automating its nitroglycerin, nitrocellulose and nitroguanidine manufacturing plants which improved manufacturing capabilities and process safety. Prior to its closure the site was producing gun and rocket propellant for use in numerous weapons systems. The workforce was about 1,000 in 1991 and was reduced to about 600 in 1993. There was a further reduction in 1996 to 450 employees as the business tried to reduce costs. It was announced in 1998 that the site would close after the loss of a major government contract for the supply of 155mm ammunition to the South African defence contractor,
Denel Denel SOC Ltd is a South African state-owned aerospace and military technology conglomerate established in 1992. It was created when the manufacturing subsidiaries of Armscor were split off in order for Armscor to become the procurement agency ...
. Manufacture on the site ceased in June 2002. The MOD Fire Service moved out after privatisation; and the MOD Police moved out after the sale to British Aerospace. Their former social club at Holmpark, with its adjoining sports field, became part of facilities of Bishopton village. The former MOD Police houses at both Holmpark and Rossland Crescent were retained by the
Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
and were sold off in the mid-1980s to private buyers. As they were still connected to ROF Bishopton's sewage system and water supply they had to be connected to the public systems before they could be sold.
BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...
is the current owner of the site. They house a small Environmental Test Facility and Gun Propulsion laboratory at Bishopton. The rest of the ground is being developed into housing.


References


External links

* Cocroft, Wayne (2000). ''Dangerous Energy: The archaeology of gunpowder and military explosives manufacture''. Swindon:
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
. . * Forsythe, R.N. (2005). "The railways of Royal Ordnance Bishopton". In: ''Backtrack'', 19, No. 4. Pages 248–250. {{ISSN, 0955-5382. Cordite Bishopton Industrial railways in Scotland Military history of Scotland 2 ft 6 in gauge railways in Scotland Royal Ordnance Factories in Scotland History of Renfrewshire Category B listed buildings in Renfrewshire