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[This is one of a linked series of articles about Dumbarton Rock. See the end of Link for a list of the reference works that are cited here in abbreviated form.]

This powder magazine was built in 1748; it could hold 150 barrels of gunpowder. It replaced an earlier magazine that stood against a nearby section of the curtain wall of the castle [OSG07, p5]. (The site of the earlier building is shown in the next article in this series.)

The building is surrounded by a blast wall; an information panel located on the inside of that wall shows a plan of the building, and describes the care that was taken to prevent accidental ignition of the gunpowder; for example, to reduce the risk of sparks, those entering the magazine had to exchange their hobnailed boots for wooden clogs.

On the night of May 5-6, 1941, this building received a direct hit from a high-explosive bomb, one of four that hit the Rock, although they were presumably intended for the nearby Blackburn aircraft factory or for Denny's shipyards. The north-east corner of the outer wall of the magazine was demolished by the blast (fortunately, the building had long ago ceased to be used in its original role) [MacPhail, p165-6].

For the entrance of the building, which is on this side, see NS4074 : Dumbarton Castle: Magazine entrance. For a more distant view of the whole building from the other side, see NS4074 : Dumbarton Castle: Magazine and eastern wall.

Previous: NS4074 : Dumbarton Rock: Prince of Wales Battery.
Next: NS4074 : Dumbarton Rock: sentry box and curtain wall.