# Royal Ordnance Factory Bishopton, near Glasgow - Early 2009



## BenCooper (May 19, 2009)

The Royal Ordnance Factories were built during the rearmament phase of the 1930's, just in time for WWII - Bishopton was by far the largest, employing over 20,000 workers at it's peak in three almost-self-contained factories within one perimeter fence. Factory III closed down almost immediately after the war, but factories I and II continued production of cordite, picrite (an anti-flashing and stabilising agent), RDX, white phosphorus, ball powder (gunpowder) and various other explosives and propellants up until the year 2000.

I spent three days exploring ROF Bishopton, taking hundreds of pictures - even the edited highlights run to 270 pictures, so this is just a brief summary of this absolutely massive (2.5 x 1.5 miles) site. I'll do it in order of my explorations.

Bishopton had over 20 miles of standard-gauge rail lines - these were used with the ROF's own fleet of diesel locos to move raw materials and finished propellant. This is one engine shed for the diesel engines:





Next onto the pulping and blending house - cordite is a mix of nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose:





Nitrocellulose pulping is very similar to paper pulping, so paper machinery was used - rows and rows of beaters made by Bertrams of Edinburgh:





In the same building, giant tanks store the nitric and sulphuric acids used in the process:





And settling troughs are used to recover waste acid:





I visited four separate pulping and blending houses in all three factories - all similar in design and layout, but different in size:





Next, onto a vat house - again, these were duplicated:





Through a connecting passageway, with a stern warning about unboiled guncotton (nitrocellulose):





Then the mixing house, where nitroglycerin was introduced to the guncotton - the shelter, I think, refers to an air-raid shelter:









In the acids section, a three-storey glass retort:





In a nitration building, more giant tanks:





Cordite is made and extruded while damp, to stop it burning - then it needs to be dried. ROF Bishopton had over 80 miles of narrow-gauge rail lines used to move materials around the site, so the damp cordite was loaded onto wagons and moved into one of dozens of drying bays, were hot air was blown through the wagons:





Cordite is processed in various ways - this is a rolling mill:





Note the giant roof vents - each of these is over one rolling machine:





Then onto the laundry - like all explosives factories, ROF Bishopton had a worker's uniform - outdoor clothes were strictly banned because they could contain metal or other materials that could cause an explosion.





Earlier, I said there were three factories, but there was also Factory 0 - this was the admin and support buildings, including workshops:





For my second visit, I was more prepared, with a list of places that looked interesting on Google Earth. First up was one of two drum blenders, where highly explosive materials were mixed in a building inside a giant blast wall - it's interesting to compare these to an almost identical building at ICI Ardeer:





Inside, the blending drum itself:





A panorama of the second larger drum blender shows the inner three-storey building inside the blast wall - the gantry is an emergency exit so workers on the upper level could get out quickly:





The drum bender is controlled from a shed outside the blast wall, to cut down on the number of workers at risk:





A wee diversion - ROF Bishopton was made up of the compulsory purchase of seven farms and one country mansion - the farm buildings were either demolished or converted to other uses, but Dargavel House was almost untouched:





On to the CCC (Combustible Charge Container) felting, pressing, lacquering and finishing building - this is similar to the guncotton works, but also has a series of presses in blast-proof bays:





More long connecting corridors, with a strict warning sign:





Then onto the white phosphorus section - the blue building in the background is the Factory II boiler house. Each factory had it's work independent power supply from a boiler house and separate power station - the steam also heated all the 2000+ buildings on site:





Inside the white phosphorus section:





On to a giant acid settling tank - to give you an idea of scale, the white walls are about 10 feet high:





...to be continued.


----------



## BenCooper (May 19, 2009)

...continued: Next onto another part of the acids recovery section of Factory I, recently used as a murder scene in Taggart:





Some of the acid recovery plant is pretty modern:





Next, onto one of the most distinctive buildings in Bishopton - the Picrite "cathedral". Here's what it looked like in 1958:





And here's what it looks like now:





Next, the Factory I power plant:





Next, on to a gun propellant research building, with a modern (or, at least, well-maintained) cordite extrusion press:





A similar buidling next door (the Tangye press house) shows the rows of individual press bays:





Next, a giant bulding in Factory III - I'm not sure what this was, as all equipment has been stripped:





And a wide-angle view of the Factory II nitrocellulose section:





For my third visit, another list of places to see - and some snow to make things photogenic  First a shear mill buidling:





I'm sure there's a gruesome story behind this:





A vertical mixer:





Most of Factory III is gone, but these lovely drying bays remain:





Next onto the "Little Steamie" - old propellant was steamed out of shells and rockets for recycling:





Nearby, in a WWII-era ammo store, a stack of WWII ammo boxes:





Next, onto a propellant cutting building - the cutting was done by remote control from the other side of a blast wall:





Then onto an X-ray building - propellant was X-rayed to make sure it had properly filled the canisters:





In another very heavily-armoured bunker, a 10" horizontal press extruded cordite for rockets:





NItroglycerin is made on a "hill" - pumping a very sensitive explosive is a very bad idea, so everything is gravity-fed. ROF Bishopton has two hills per factory - that's six nitroglycerin hills in total.





BAE Systems and Redrow Homes now have a plan - they want to clean up this entire massive site, and build a housing estate. This is receiving a lot of local opposition, not least because the preferred method of cleaning up 2000+ buildings full of explosve residue is by burning them. They have test-burned a couple of buildings:





The back-story: I originally posted three resports on ROF Bishopton a few months ago - then, I had a friendly visit from the police. I suppose it's not surprising that a multinational arms company which doesn't flinch at bribery and can get "independent" government enquiries cancelled would have influence with the police - I was charged with Breach of the Peace, for causing distress to BAE Systems. Bless.

Anyway, the Procurator Fiscal is more sensible, and all charges ahve been dropped - case closed. I took everything Bishopton-related down while this was ongoing, and took the opportunity to tidy up and re-edit lots of images.

Be warned: this site is covered by the Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations 2005, and it is an offence to enter. Don't say I didn't warn you.

The rest of the images are in my Flickr set...


----------



## BenCooper (May 19, 2009)

Oh, and one big advantage of the housing estate plan is that the public planning permissions have loads and loads of info, which I've mapped in Google Earth - I'll put the data on my website once I've tidied it up, but here's some screenshots. First, the standard-gauge (orange) and narrow-gauge (yellow) railways and waterways (blue):





Next, mapped dozens of buildings:





And a map of the factories - the buildings were not numbered in any logical order to make it harder for spies, but if you know the code you can work out which building is in which factory. Green is Factory I, Red is Factory II, Blue is Factory III:


----------



## Bryag (May 19, 2009)

Wow fabulous report and some great pics. It is always interesting to get the purpose of each building on these military sites.


----------



## klempner69 (May 19, 2009)

Simply epic report and very well written.


----------



## Richard Davies (May 19, 2009)

There's another Royal Ordnance site near Chorley, I'm not sure if there's any production still there but a friend of the family's garden backs onto the site.


----------



## Lightbuoy (May 19, 2009)

Crackin' read, backed-up with well chosen photos. This has got to be the biggest Site I've ever seen! 

Reminds me of Pyestock -but BIGGER (never thought I'd hear myself say that!) 

Your mapa are most helpful too to put it all into perspective. Must have taken you an age to do too.

Thanks very much for sharing Ben


----------



## smiffy (May 20, 2009)

Thats a Grade A report there fella .really grand .....many thanks and extremeley well researched too ! Great !


----------



## Trinpaul (May 20, 2009)

I'm at a loss for words  simply an impressive site and an even more impressive and detailed report  I learned something new today


----------



## Fraz13 (May 20, 2009)

Nice one man, this place is like 2 mins away from me, I pass it all the time, Always wanted a wander round but they turned me away at the gate, If you dont ask and all that lol So what was the big stately house used for? Did you get in there?


----------



## BenCooper (May 20, 2009)

Fraz13 said:


> Nice one man, this place is like 2 mins away from me, I pass it all the time, Always wanted a wander round but they turned me away at the gate, If you dont ask and all that lol So what was the big stately house used for? Did you get in there?



You just walked up to the gate and asked? Brilliant!

Dargavel was used for offices I think - it was secured and alarmed so I ddin't go in, and looking though the windows it was just office furniture - nothing interesting.


----------



## sqwasher (May 20, 2009)

Superb report with great pics & an interesting & informative explanation of procedures. Top job!


----------



## Badoosh (May 20, 2009)

Can't really say anything that others haven't, simply fantabulous work, well done indeed! Thanks for sharing


----------



## Foxylady (May 20, 2009)

Wow! Amazing site, pics and report.  
Absolutely brilliant stuff, Ben...and glad you're still free to tell the tale!


----------



## tigger2 (May 20, 2009)

One of the best urbex reports I've ever seen. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## jonney (May 20, 2009)

Feck me, Awesome report and photo's Ben 10 out of 10 for that one


----------



## the_historian (May 20, 2009)

Fraz13 said:


> Always wanted a wander round but they turned me away at the gate, If you dont ask and all that lol



I remember writing to the head office a few years ago with photo ID and details of a few of the wartime sites I've managed to get added to the NMR over the years, asking for permission for an escorted visit if need be. Needless to say, I never heard another word!
Great report btw, absolutely superb.


----------



## littlelaura (May 20, 2009)

Christ on a bike thats a good report, massive looking site and cracking shots. Top marks all round !!


----------



## BenCooper (May 20, 2009)

the_historian said:


> I remember writing to the head office a few years ago with photo ID and details of a few of the wartime sites I've managed to get added to the NMR over the years, asking for permission for an escorted visit if need be. Needless to say, I never heard another word!
> Great report btw, absolutely superb.



Do you have experience of getting buildings protected/listed? I think Bishopton certainly deserves protection, but I don't know the right people to contact...


----------



## TK421 (May 20, 2009)

BenCooper, I have seen many good reports on this and other fourms, but this has to beat those hands down. Great site, great write up, great photos, well done!


----------



## the_historian (May 20, 2009)

Well, not exactly listed Ben. I've managed to get a few WW2 sites added to the NMR for Scotland by sending reports into the RCAHMS in Edinburgh. The online record is called CANMORE
Bishopton is already on here, fortunately. ROF Bishopton
You could always write to the RCAHMS and ask what developments they are aware of for the ROF.
If you're interested in that sort of thing, I can give you a few tips on writing reports for any future sites.


----------



## simaving (May 20, 2009)

*rof bishopton*

if carlsberg did u.e reports.... Thanks for stunning viewing/reading,simon


----------



## BenCooper (May 20, 2009)

Thanks 

I'll try writing to RCAHMS - Canmore is a brilliant resource I've used before...


----------



## RedDave (May 20, 2009)

I'm jealous!

An amazing report of the place I'd most like to explore, and very well researched. Well done.

I used to cycle past it when I was a kid, while it was still in use. However, I was unsure of the legality of trespass into it, as explosives were (and for all I knew are) still stored in it, which would make trespass there a criminal offence. I passed it again last year, without stopping, during my Scottish road trip. The scale of ROF Bishopton is now clear from OS maps. During operation, the maps were never updated and showed farmland and woodland, though we all knew what was behind the tall fence and fir trees.

The architect of Dargavel House was David Bryce. Glad to see it's still in good nick . Maybe it will, some day, be open to the public. It would be some consolation for the dereliction and later demolition of nearby Craigends House, another of my childhood haunts.

Glad to hear charges against you were dropped.

One other thing: I read that there was blue asbestos (even nastier than vanilla asbestos) in some of the buildings, so I hope you wore a P3 mask, stayed out of those buildings, or I've been misinformed.


----------



## BenCooper (May 20, 2009)

RedDave said:


> I'm jealous!
> 
> An amazing report of the place I'd most like to explore, and very well researched. Well done.
> 
> ...



Well, as I mentioned it's covered under the MSER 2005 - so it is an offence to enter the site. However, it's also an offence for BAE to not properly secure the site, so swings and roundabouts. When I visited, there were no warning signs, a decent hole in the fence about 100 yards from the front gate in plain sight, and I spent three days strolling about without security noticing. No explosives are on the site at all (apart from the residues) - but I didn't go into the new Environmental Test Facility, which is inside a new fancy perimeter fence - I presume there's explosives in there.

The latest OS maps (2005 on I think) show the buildings, but don't mention what the place is.

I kept a close eye out for asbestos - the buildings are wide open to the atmosphere, so there wouldn't be any airborne asbestos, just need to be careful not to kick any up.


----------



## spartacus (May 21, 2009)

Terrific report, Great Pictures.. and a fantastic site


----------



## Krypton (May 21, 2009)

Fantastic Report BC


----------



## BenCooper (May 21, 2009)

Thanks 

I've tidied up the Google Earth mapping data:

http://www.catchingphotons.co.uk/ROF_Bishopton.kmz


----------



## smileysal (May 21, 2009)

Excellent history, and write up of the site, and excellent pics Ben. You've done a fantastic job here.

Cheers,

 Sal


----------



## Andymacg (May 24, 2009)

Ben what a fantastic report there  youve certainly got an eye for hunting the good spots to photograph

even with my job I couldnt get permission to have a nose about the place,been there several times in the last few weeks to deliver and then collect stuff from the test facility which is as you said well protected


----------



## BenCooper (May 24, 2009)

I can't see them being too keen on giving permission for a wander about - I've seen some pictures from an escorted tour, but that was only around the outside of some buildings...


----------



## 85 Vintage (May 24, 2009)

Brilliant report, brilliant pics, just brilliant


----------



## Sabtr (May 24, 2009)

For some reason I've only just seen this thread!

An excellent report Ben and a hugely historic and interesting site. This is definately something I would love to see.

Thank you for sharing it with us.


----------



## undeterredham (May 24, 2009)

Good report dude.

I've had the joy of being allowed onto that site officially, as a participant in an army driving competition last year. I was driving a 110 Rover, and my Nav was frickin hopeless. Spent many hours driving my way round the maze.

A very interesting site, but we were too near the top of the leaderboards in the competition to hang around lookign at things!!


----------



## BenCooper (May 24, 2009)

Seriously? That must have been really cool 

Makes BAE's "this is a really dangerous site" argument look even more silly, though - well, that, and they filmed bits of Taggart there...


----------



## sheepie (Jun 23, 2009)

epic i love this stuff best thread i read yet and now i have had a thought about another site


----------



## BenCooper (Jun 24, 2009)

Ardeer? Aye, that's worth a visit too


----------



## swedish (Jun 24, 2009)

This looks massive, must have been a really decent explore. really good report & some very interesting shot.


----------



## BenCooper (Jun 24, 2009)

Biggest urbex site in the country I reckon


----------



## Marley85 (Jun 24, 2009)

That is the best put to gether report iv ever seen and fantastic pictures to. brillent mate abselutly brilliant.


----------



## BenCooper (Jul 10, 2009)

This might also be of interest - before ROF Bishopton, the southern part of the site was called Georgetown - it was a WWI filling factory, also called the Scottish Filling Factory (SFF). Very little remains, but I found a book of the staff magazine, and I've also mapped the factory.

















Map available here:
http://www.catchingphotons.co.uk/Georgetown_SFF.kmz


----------



## Demoltion1man (Jul 11, 2009)

*When is it to be Demolished Ben?*

Who ownes Royal Ordnance Factory Bishopton?

Thanks

Rob


----------



## james.s (Jul 11, 2009)

I'm in awe... a stunning report


----------



## BenCooper (Jul 11, 2009)

Demoltion1man said:


> Who ownes Royal Ordnance Factory Bishopton?



BAE Systems...


----------



## daddybear (Jul 11, 2009)

I can only echo other peoples sentiments on a truly magnificent report i think we are running out of superlatives on that.10/10 well done!!probably the best report ive seen so far on D.P.thanks


----------



## tbkscott (Jul 11, 2009)

Very impressive report, pics and information, excellent welld one and thanks for sharing love places like this.


----------



## DRJ17 (Jul 21, 2009)

An aerial view from last week -


----------



## BenCooper (Jul 21, 2009)

Very nice 

Bottom centre is the Factory I Nitrocellulose section, with the Acids section to the right. The blue building is the Factory II boiler house - right of that is White Phosphorus filling, then the Combustible Charge Container section. You can just about see Dargavel House in the middle of the trees in the centre.


----------



## Kaputnik (Jul 21, 2009)

For a refreshing change, the hugely overused phrase 'Excellent report, mate' seems an understatement!
hard to believe the size of the area that place covers, thanks for showing us, and finding out the details of the processes and workings of the place, very interesting stuff


----------



## Earth Worm Jim (Jul 23, 2009)

That looks like a fantastic site much better than my local ROF. Nice photos and report to.


----------

