Gretna, Hm Factory, Eastriggs Explosives Factory, Acids Section, Gaillard Towers

Canmore ID: 375015

NY26SW 38.26

NY 25136 64863 (centred)

An extensive area of building debris is situated in dense deciduous scrub woodland about 25m SSW of the Cottrell Precipitator Plant (NY26SW 38.25). It is bisected by a standard gauge railway line (NY26NW 46.24) running from NW to SE, which terminates at the Transit Area (NY26NW 46.21). Dumping and levelling has removed almost all structural traces, except for a rectangular setting of six large moss- and grass-grown rectangular concrete footings for steel stanchions (NY 25110 64843) orientated from NNE to SSW.

This debris is all that remains of two buildings (NY 25109 64870, NY 25164 64855) identified as Gaillard Towers on the plan of the works (MMW 1919, plan, diagram 5A, 101-107) given in the re-port by the Ministry of Munitions of War outlining the processes involved in the manufacture of cordite propellant during the First World War at H.M. Factory, Gretna (Site 3). These Gaillard tower houses were situated 9m apart, which permitted the introduction of a standard-gauge railway line between them. The six Gaillard Towers within each building were designed to concentrate weak sulphuric acid by removing excess water. This was achieved by spraying the weak acid down hollow stone towers where the water was re-moved by hot air rising from furnaces below. The concentrated sulphuric acid was then distributed to the rest of the factory. An undated plan (SUPP 10-39) held in the National Archives at Kew shows that each of the two tower houses were rectangular on plan and measured about 56m from NNE to SSW by 22m transversely. The coke-filled scrubbers attached to the ESE of the more westerly tower house occupied an area that was also rectangular on plan and measured about 42m from NNE by SSW by 13m transversely. The scrubbers attached to the WNW of the eastern tower house occupied an area that measured 26m from NNE to SSW by 13m transversely. This plan also indicates that the strong acid was conveyed by standard gauge railway to the Nitroglycerine Hills (NY26SE 16.01-05). A description of a blueprint (SUPP 10-21, 3945) and actual blueprints (SUPP 10-25, 3260; SUPP 10-26, illegible number), together with ground-based, contemporary official photographs taken during their construction (MUN 5-297 pt1, 190, 207, 208, 239; MUN 5-297 pt2, 249, 316; MUN 5-297 pt3, 370, 371, 428, 429, 441, 452, 452A, 472, 497) also held at Kew, show that the tallest part of the tower houses which enclosed the actual towers rose to a height of about 20m, while the rest of each building was about 9m in height. Each building (including the towers) was a single storey, steel-framed, corrugated iron sheet clad structure with a rubberoid ridged roof. The taller part containing the towers was capped by a vent running almost the whole length of the building. It is possible that there were skylights in the roof of the lower part. There were sliding doors in the SSW elevation and at least one window above a door in the WNW elevation. However, this was largely obscured by the scrubbers which were en-closed in wooden boarding supported on steel stanchions. Any waste gases were transferred by pipework to the Cotterell Precipitator Plant.

These buildings fell into lot 508, which was offered for sale by auction on 22-5 July 1924 (HM Treasury 1924, 101), when the lot was divided between J. M. Temple, Blackhills, Eastriggs and Messrs James Jackson & Co Ltd, St Vincent Street, Glasgow (Carlisle City Archives, DX 2040/3). After their removal from the site, only the foundations of both were left in place and these are readily visible on an aerial photograph (M124/13 04117) flown on 19 August 1940.

Visited by HES Heritage Recording (MMD and ATW), 11 May 2022.