370 buildings varying in floor area. Like a typical munitions facility, the buildings were widely spaced on safety reasons, to avoid complete destruction of the facility in case of an explosion
A rail connected outpost was established at Credenhill, were a munitions store was stablished. During WW2 this land was again requisitioned for defence, and became RAF Hereford, now the home of the Special Air Service.
All components were produced elsewhere, with the facility responsible for final production: inserting explosive into shells, and fitting detonators. Shell filling began on 11 November 1916, with both Lyddite and Amatol explosives being used in production. From June 1918, alongside the main plant at Banbury and supporting site at Chittenden; all three were supplied with dichloroethyl sulphide by the National Smelting Company at Avonmouth Docks, to produce mustard gas shells. By the ed of WW1, the average output of shells from the facility was 70,000 per week. At peak of 6,000 employees; by October 1918, there were 5,943 employees, 3,977 of which were women. Workers were transported in from billets in Hereford, Leominster and Ross on Wye. Dedicated trains were run from Hereford Barrs Court railway station to the specially built factory station, with free tickets supplied to all employees.
Between the wars
The only ROF of 25 sites retained between the wars, it was put into care and maintenance from 1920. From 1926 onwards it resumed filling gas shells, staffed by about 400 men. By the late 1930s it was used by the Royal Navy for filling sea mines.
During World War II, the facility was used to produce shells, and bombs for the Royal Air Force. The site employed over 8,000 staff, mainly women. The site suffered three major incidents:
12 September 1941: a milling machine overheated, creating explosions with killed three people
27 July 1942: a single NaziLuftwaffe bomber dropped 2 x 250 kg bombs, killing 22 people
30 May 1944: a bomb during filling operations exploded, setting off a chain reaction. The filling house, located in the south east of the complex, was destroyed, whilst the surrounding buildings were damaged to various extents. The Ministry redeveloped the affected area, and medals were awarded for bravery: five George Medal, one Order of the British Empire, one Member of the Order of the British Empire; nine British Empire Medals, and 34 other commendations.
Present
With vastly reduced production after World War II, the town and county council lobbied for various business to relocate to the site. As the ROF was reduced in scale, parts of the site were redeveloped with various commercial industrial facilities. The ROF closed in 1967. In 1975 Herefordshire County Council bought for redevelopment an industrial estate. A number of World War I buildings survive, as does a group of World War II Romney huts to the north-east, now used as industrial starter units.
