No. 1 Machine Shop 1861; Armour Plate Shop 1865
Grade II* Listed Buildings
The decision to build HMS Achilles at the Dockyard in 1861 led to the requirement for new buildings to be able to house the machine tools required to work with iron. Achilles was to be built in No.2 Dock and it was decided that the new building, No.1 Machine Shop, should be built adjacent to it, allowing an easier transfer of the shaped iron for construction.
The building had enough room to take two new plate furnaces and two angle-iron furnaces. In addition, hydraulic machinery for bending iron plate, punching holes, shearing and planing the metal work were installed. In 1865 the building was extended with the Armour Plate Shop, now the Trust's Railway Workshop and Wagon Stop Canteen. In a stark contrast to the hand tools used for wooden warship construction, they would have been noisy working spaces.
Despite their appearance, both are important structures that mark the transition from the timber-hulled sail-powered ships of the age of sail to the arrival of the iron and steel hulled steam powered Navy.
Comments 0 comments