ROF Bridgwater
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History
It was constructed early in
On 29 June 1951, an explosion killed six men. No cause was ever identified.[3]
It was also known as "ROF 37", a name that was reflected in its sports and social association, the "37 Club", just outside the perimeter fence.
Infrastructure
As munitions production needed a guaranteed year-round clean water supply of several million gallons per day, the site was ideal, being able to obtain supplies from the water-logged Somerset Levels:
- the artificial Huntspill River, dug during construction;[4]
- the King's Sedgemoor Drain, widened at the same time;[4]
- water that accumulated due to the high water table in the "Borrow Pits", dug to produce traverses around the explosive magazines.
Both the waterways are now an integral part of the drainage system of the Somerset Levels.
The factory was essentially self-supporting other than for raw materials. It generated high-pressure steam for heating and production processes using its own coal-fired
Between 1940 and 1941, housing for workers was built as "pre-fabs" in the adjacent village of Woolavington. Hostels for single workers were built at nearby Dunball, by the King's Sedgemoor Drain.
The site was guarded until shortly after privatisation by the
The factory was connected to the
A bridge was built in the early 1970s to carry the line over the
Production
During the construction period it appears that the decision was made to fill munitions, including the
Like all ROFs at the time, the factory was a production factory: formulation of
Post World War II
During the slack period between 1945 and the Korean War the factory and ROF Chorley and ROF Glascoed built two-storey pre-fabricated concrete houses.[2]
Additional capability
- Production of the new high explosive HMX was added in 1955.
- In the 1960s and 1970s, the factory started producing plastic rubberas two of its main ingredients.
- Trinitrotoluene(TNT) manufacture was added in 1980.
Privatisation
References
- ^ a b Colledge, Matthew (31 March 2008). "Sad day as firm sheds workforce". Bridgwater Mercury. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
- ^ ISBN 1-85074-718-0
- ISBN 9780752458144.
- ^ ISBN 0-521-07486-X.
- ^ Baker, S.K. (1980). Rail Atlas of Britain, 3rd Edition. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Co
- ^ Taylor, Michael (6 December 2018). "Former Royal Ordnance Factory near Bridgwater to be transformed into 'sustainable mixed-use campus' called Gravity". SomersetLive. Reach. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ "Reports: Tesla considering Bristol site for UK gigafactory". BusinessGreen. 8 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
Further reading
- Dunning, R.W. (2004). The Victoria History of the County of Somerset, Volume VIII, The Poldens and the Levels. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
External links
- 37 sports and social club
- Map sources for ROF Bridgwater
- 51°10′40″N 2°57′20″W / 51.17783°N 2.95557°WGravity - ROF Bridgwater today