Bishopbriggs Magazine

Magazine 1

Bishopbriggs magazine was a World War II ammunition magazine located to the north of Glasgow, sited near the Wester Balmuidy AA Battery which lay some 500 metres to the southwest.

The site is described as a World War II Anti-Aircraft Ordnance Depot (AAOD) and Emergency Equipment Ammunition Magazine.

The area adjacent to the northeast side of the magazine is reported to have been a Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) depot, now demolished and cleared, while the buildings to the southeast comprise a bonded bonded warehouse.

Reports of the site describe the remains of an 18 bay magazine, comprising numerous corrugated iron buildings, Nissen huts with concrete shells, and semi-buried buildings, together with evidence of access road and the remains of perimeter fencing. Much of the site is overgrown, all the building are dilapidated and many have collapsed.

Site visit

A site visit was carried out during January 2008. The eastern end of the site was found to have been taken over and in use as an eco-recycling centre, and is piled high with compost, wood, and similar materials. A small bunker was identified there, together with a larger brick building which may have been a workshop, while a few piles of demolition debris were visible along the western boundary of the centre.

The central area of the site is surrounded by an inner fence, containing a small number of hut bases to the west, and a large magazine which is still intact. The remainder of the site consists of five sets of magazines which comprise pairs of large Nissen huts encased by approximately four inches of concrete reinforcement, some with blast walls adjacent, and all arranged to lie near the original perimeter fence.

The southeast corner contains the remains of a large, roofless, concrete bunker, which was either partitioned, or had numerous bays which housed heavy shelving.

The original perimeter fencing consists of steel mesh, variously supported by steel posts or heavier concrete posts with mesh, typical of military installations dating from the period of the war, as are the remains of the gates. The site is now heavily wooded and when the trees are in leaf it is unlikely much will be visible.