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The Depot was described as being built by the Government for the storage of 106,000 barrels of gunpowder. This seems a very large store, and presumably it would have been
for ordnance to issue to the infantry (regular militia & volunteers), Royal Artillery and engineers as required. 1813-14 was at the climax of the Napoleonic Wars (Battle of Waterloo, 1815).
It was built of bricks made at Fort Cumberland near Portsmouth, with a slate roof. The cement came from the factory at ?Ursey or ?Ersey. There was a double wall, so that a
fire could be lit between the two to ensure that the damp was kept out!
The Ordnance Depot was recorded (in a document at the National Archives, reference unknown) as being in Picket Field - the area around Highclose Farm, about 5km west of
Hungerford along the A4 road towards Froxfield. The OS Map of 1881 clearly shows a "Magazine (Disused)"
just to the west of Highclose Farm. There is no trace on the ground now of any such building, but this is the approximate site of a World War II pill-box.
See also:
- The Barracks
- Berkshire Yeomanry
Updated: 29.6.2011
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 "1881 OS - Magazine(w)")