Monkton Farleigh Ammo Depot


Surviving Defences around the C.A.D Monkton Farleigh, Wiltshire.

Vickers MMG Emplacement @ Ngr ST800656

Vickers MMG Emplacement @ Ngr ST800656

During the 1930s there was a requirement for secure storage for munitions throughout Great Britain.  Three main CAD or Central Ammunition Depots were created , north of England Longton Cumbria, the midlands Nesscliffe in Shropshire and one in the south which became Monkton Farleigh near Corsham in Wiltshire this was started in late 1937

The site was originally a west country stone quarry, during late 1937 the Great Western Railway (GWR) constructed a long platform and two sidings that ran off the main London to Bristol rail line just outside Box Tunnel. The war office had a narrow gauge railway that connected the CAD under ground depot to the platform sidings, ammunition would be transferred either way by a large conveyor belt to the ammunition train.

The CAD at Monkton Farleigh was closed at the end of WW2 but was kept in an operational condition until the 1950s, the rail sidings were then removed and not used again until the mid-1980s when a museum opened for s short period on the site. Today the north end of the depot tunnel is sealed with  concrete  and the former mine/CAD is used for secure commercial storage.

 Pictures By Eric Burke