More information : Site Development, function and character. The former Joint Services Corsham, Copenacre Site (ST 85243 70447 FCE), lies about ½ km to the north of the main Corsham Computer Centre and tunnel complex. It is situated on the north side of the Bath Road A4 and mainly overlies the former Copenacre limestone quarry. This was developed from the mid 19th century; on the surface was the entrance to the slope shaft, a small self-contained rail system and travelling cranes for lifting the stone. The underground area could also be accessed from the south via the Hartham Park Quarries. This remains in use giving access to Pickwick Quarry. There is no underground connection between Copenacre Quarry and the main Corsham complex.
Copenacre, along with the other Corsham quarries was requisitioned by the government in December 1940. In comparison to the other underground areas it was comparatively small covering about 10 acres (4 hectares). Initially, it was proposed to convert 160, 000 sq ft (14864 m²) at a cost of £192, 500. This was later reduced to 120, 000 sq ft (11148 m²), but was then finally increased to 217,800 sq ft (20233 m²), or about half of the available underground area. Development of the Copenacre quarries began in early 1942 after the Admiralty identified a requirement for secure storage for Fleet Air Arm (FAA) equipment. To convert the quarry to its new use its surfaces were considerably modified including the regrading and enlargement of the Copenacre shaft [H39] and the excavation of a new shaft [H7]. Both these were protected with heavily reinforced concrete caps. To further improve access two electrical elevator shafts [H10] and H40] were also constructed, and at the extreme eastern end of the site is an apparently now blocked staircase to the mine. On the surface office accommodation [H20] was required for 50 men, a dining room [H36] for 50 officers and 200 ordinary ranks, and garaging for 24 vehicles, in buildings [H13, H14 and H16]. The Hartham Park Quarries access was maintained through a long narrow drift, but was only used as an emergency exit. During the war in addition to FAA equipment the depot also housed naval anti-aircraft stores, radio direction finding, fire-control and Asdic equipment.
Immediately post-war the FAA no longer need the Copenacre accommodation and it became a Royal Navy Stores Depot (RNSD), which also expanded its operations into Spring Quarry. The Corsham area became the main storage depot for the Royal Navy's electronic equipment, and by 1954 the facilities had been considerably expanded. As well as its storage role the depot also became responsible for the testing and calibration of the Navy's electronic equipment. To support this activity a number of specialised facilities were created underground, including a dust proof room and electromagnetic shielding. A new power station was also built to ensure stable high frequency power supplies.
In 1960, the site was again considerably expanded when the Navy's supply depot at Risley, Cheshire, was closed and 10,000 tons of stock and 400 personnel were transferred to Corsham. To house this extra staff a three storey reinforced concrete office building [H4] was constructed at the western side of the site. A series of photographs in the NMR's PSA collection (PSA010) dated May 1959, probably indicate it was built around this time. It is suggested that the range to the west with brick panel infill may predate the ranges to the east with washed concrete panels. This later addition may have been required when the Ministry of Defence's Royal Navy Stores and Transport headquarters staff were transferred to Corsham in 1966.
By 1969, Copenacre was the Navy's principal location for the storage of and testing of naval electronics, with a workforce of 1,700 it was north Wiltshire's largest employer. Not long after this concentration had taken place, concerns were raised about storing all this equipment in a single place. In January 1972, a review concluded that Copenacre underground should be closed, but after a public enquiry, in October 1974 a reprieve was announced. In the post Cold War defence reviews of the early 1990s a further review was undertaken and it was announced that Copenacre was to close by March 1997, and the underground areas were to be cleared by September 1995 (McCamley 1998, 207-8, 209-10, 212-13). Latterly, the surface site has been known as `Joint Services Corsham Copenacre Site', and was occupied by Defence Equipment and Support, Information Systems and Support, they remained until about 2009.
Copenacre , list of buildings:
This building inventory is based on a field visit made on Friday 18 February 2011, all identifications are from brief external assessments. It is not clear if gaps in the numbering sequence are actual or represent previous losses.
H1 Guard House, main gate, single storey brick with concrete roof, 1960s.
H2 Toilet block, brick, 5 cubicles, 1960s .
H3 Electrical switch gear, cement rendered walls, 1960s.
H4 3 storey office building, reinforced concrete frame, 2 phases, 1960s, 1940s Ministry of Supply hut attached at eastern end.
H5 Eastern annexe, part of H4, 1960s.
H7 Slope shaft , reinforced concrete, with brick equipment annexe for fire fighting and other plant, 1942 .
H8 Transformer.
H10 Lift shaft, reinforced concrete and brick, 1942.
H13 Bike Shed was Motor Transport building, part of H14, brick with single pitch asbestos sheet roof, 1942.
H14 Stationery Store was Motor Transport Building, part of H13, brick with single pitch asbestos roof, 1942.
H16 Motor Transport, brick with single pitch asbestos roof, single bay annexe to east with pitched roof, 1942.
H17 Electrical switchgear, brick with single pitch asbestos roof, adjoins H16.
H18 Store, 3 bay, cement rendered walls, metal framed pitched roofs covered by asbestos sheet, 1942.
H19 Store, annexe adjoins H18, cement rendered breeze block with pitched roof, 1942.
H20 Offices, reinforced concrete frame with hollow brick infil1, 15 bays in length with central corridor and office accommodation to either side, 1942.
H21 Offices, wooden hut with pitched roof, post-war.
H29 Transformer in wire cage.
Assessment of significance:
During a brief field visit access to the underground areas was not possible, and it is therefore impossible to comment on the potential survival of pre-1940 quarrying remains. The development of the naval stores depot has also covered or removed all surface traces of quarrying activity.
During the Second World War with the threat of aerial bombardment the government sought to protect some of its most significant munitions and other stores in underground depots, a small number of underground factories were also developed. In total 25 underground facilities were created (McCamley 1998, xii), over half of which were in Wiltshire.
Copenacre quarry was relatively unusual as it was used for naval equipment stores, rather than explosives or production. The surface buildings display an irregular plan, which was partly determined by the shaft entrances, but which might also give camouflage advantages. The activities in the structures may be broken down into four main areas, quarry access, administration, motor transport, and personnel welfare. The buildings exhibit typical wartime construction techniques, including standardised hutting, concrete framed buildings infilled with hollow bricks, and brick buildings with metal truss roof covered by asbestos sheeting. The most distinctive structures on the site are the two heavily constructed reinforced concrete slope shaft heads and the two lift shaft heads, which provide a connection between the surface and underground landscapes.
Post-war, most of the wartime buildings remained in use until the site's closure, although two unidentified wartime buildings were lost to the east and one to make way for the extension of [H4]. The largest post-war surface development was the construction of the 3 storey concrete framed office building [H4] in about 1959, it was later extended eastwards. This appears to be a standard contemporary design, although parts of its interior may reveal more specialised functions. Also around this time the areas of hardstandings were considerably extended, it is suggested those to the east were used for delivery vehicles and those to the west for staff parking. (1)
Additional sources (2-3).
Source 4 is a website which covers the history of the whole Corsham military complex . (4)
The National Archives at Kew holds some files on the Copenacre site, for example relating to underground working and the condition of the underground stores from the 1950s and 1960s. (5)
The development of the quarry and military landscape can be partially seen from historic 1:10000 scale maps of 1889, 1901 and 1923 and modern mapping (2010). (6-9)
Aerial photographs taken as part of the Wiltshire Military Disposals project. For more information contact the NMR Archives. (10)
Aerial photographs taken in1946 show the surface buildings of this site. The earthwork at the north-eastern corner of the site may the remains of a spoil heap. This is not depicted on the pre-Second World War Ordnance Survey maps and maybe the result of clearing the quarry working for military use. The 1946 photographs also show many of the open areas between the buildings and the roads used for storage. The items appear to be in containers. Air photos taken in 2009 show that post-Second World War development has resulted in the demolition of some, though not all, of the buildings. (11-12) |