ROF Chorley facts for kids
ROF Chorley was a huge factory in the UK that belonged to the government. It was a Royal Ordnance Factory, which means it made ammunition and explosives. This factory was special because it was meant to stay open even after World War II ended. It was built near Euxton but became known as ROF Chorley.
In the 1980s, the government sold off these factories. ROF Chorley then became part of a company called Royal Ordnance plc. Later, it was owned by BAE Systems Global Combat Systems Munitions. The factory closed down between 2005 and 2007. Most of the land is now a new community called Buckshaw Village, located near Chorley.
The factory also had a secret storage place hidden deep in the Pennine hills, near the village of Heapey. This place is still used by BAE Systems today, but exactly what it's used for isn't public.
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Why ROF Chorley Was Built
In the late 1930s, before World War II began in 1939, the British government had a plan. They wanted to make more weapons and ammunition. They also wanted to spread out where these items were made. This was to protect the factories from bombing if they were attacked from the air.
So, the Ministry of Supply built many Royal Ordnance Factories. ROF Chorley and ROF Bridgend were the two biggest factories for filling ammunition. Even before they were finished, it was clear that Britain and the British Commonwealth would need even more ammunition. In total, about 20 government-owned factories were built during World War II. But none were as large or hired as many people as ROF Chorley and ROF Bridgend.
Safety was extremely important at these factories. Each production building was designed to be far apart from others. Some buildings were separated by wide-open spaces. Others had tall grass hills, about 20 feet (6 meters) high, and very thick concrete walls. These walls were called "traverses." Their job was to send any explosion upwards into the sky, instead of sideways to other buildings.
The Factory Site
The ROF Chorley site was very large, covering about 928 acres (375 hectares). It was built between Euxton and the town of Leyland. The factory had many underground storage areas for explosives. It also had special protection against lightning. All the buildings were connected by paths, roads, and even railways.
A 9-mile (about 14.5 kilometer) fence surrounded the entire area. Until the factory was sold to private companies, police from the Ministry of Defence Police guarded it. After that, private security guards took over.
The main railway line from Manchester to Preston cut the factory site into two parts. This line went through Bolton and Euxton junction.
The smaller part of the site was for administration. It was located between the railway and Euxton Lane. Here, you would find the main office, test labs, a medical center, and a large canteen. This canteen even had a stage for concerts and shows during the war.
The larger part of the site was north of the railway line. This was the main area where explosives were handled and ammunition was filled.
ROF Chorley had its own private railway station called ROF Halt. It was last used in 1965. The railway line and station were separated from the factory by tall brick walls, about 20 feet (6 meters) high. To get from the station to the factory, people used a bridge over the tracks. The old station was taken down in 2002 to make way for new housing. A new station, Buckshaw Parkway railway station, opened nearby in 2011.
The picture shows the Chorley RoF station in 2001. You can see two platforms for trains to pass through, with smaller areas on each side.
A main road, Central Road, connected the two parts of the factory. It crossed over the railway line using a steep bridge with footpaths on both sides.
There were also other entrances to the explosives site. One was known as the Leyland Gate. After the factory became private, the road over the railway was not used much. Instead, separate entrances like the Leyland gate and the Euxton gatehouse were used for the two different parts of the site.
Making Ammunition During World War II
By September 1939, when World War II started, the new factory already had over 1,000 workers.
By June 1940, the number of people working there had jumped to almost 15,000. At its busiest during the war, ROF Chorley had more than 28,000 employees! This was a huge number. At that time, only about a dozen factories in all of Britain had more than 19,000 workers. Four of these were the Royal Arsenal, ROF Bishopton, ROF Chorley, and ROF Bridgend.
ROF Chorley was also the place where the famous "bouncing bombs" were filled. These bombs were designed by Barnes Wallis and used in the "Dambusters raid." The main factory for filling large aircraft bombs was ROF Glascoed.
Building the entire factory cost a lot of money, about £13,140,000.
The factory was protected by anti-aircraft guns. These guns were placed around the area to shoot down enemy planes. One old gun mount and a small concrete shelter, called a pillbox, were found near Whittle-le-Woods. They were restored in 2017 as part of a new housing development. The factory was targeted by German planes a few times in 1940 and 1944. However, because it was in a rural area, the bombs often missed the factory and hit nearby farms instead. One time, a chicken coop was even hit!
What Was Made After the War
After World War II ended in 1945, there was a quieter period before the Korean War. During this time, ROF Chorley, like other factories such as ROF Bridgwater and ROF Glascoed, made parts for houses. They produced concrete pieces for "Airey" pre-fabricated concrete houses.
ROF Chorley also made concrete railway sleepers, which are the pieces of wood or concrete that support railway tracks. They even made clothing!
For many years, until the mid-1990s, maps from the British Ordnance Survey did not show the ROF sites. Instead, they showed what the land looked like before the factory was built, for security reasons. There was a story from the 1970s that city planners wanted to build a new town center on this "empty" site. But then they found out it was owned by the Ministry of Defence and was a high-explosive site! Newer maps now show the buildings, roads, and railway links, simply labeled as "Works."
The Factory Becomes Private
After the factory was sold to private companies, the main office for Royal Ordnance plc moved to ROF Chorley. A new office building was created from an old warehouse on the "administration site." However, the official registered office of Royal Ordnance plc stayed in London.
For about 20 years after becoming private, the site was still known as Royal Ordnance Chorley. Later, it lost this name and became part of BAE Systems Land Systems and then BAE Systems Land and Armaments. The main office functions eventually moved from Chorley to BAE Systems' Filton site.
Closing Down the Factory
In the early 1990s, a long-term plan was made for the entire site. This plan involved taking apart and cleaning a large part of the explosives area. This land would then be used for other things, mainly housing.
About 400 acres (1.6 km2) were declared extra land. The buildings were cleaned of explosives by burning them. Some explosives work continued on a smaller part of the site, but this also stopped in 2007. In 2000, the Royal Ordnance main office moved to BAE System's Filton, Bristol site. More recently, it moved to Glascoed in Monmouthshire. Much of the remaining site was completely cleared of buildings. A big part of it was used to build the new Buckshaw Village. Some land was also developed for light industrial businesses.
The old main administration office building was turned into a college for adults. It became part of Runshaw College's Euxton Lane campus. However, in 2022, it was sold to Lancashire Constabulary and is now the new home for the Chorley Police station. Central Road still exists, but the bridge deck has been replaced, and the road has been improved. It is now called Central Avenue.
In 2009, the former ROF Heapey storage site was also closed down. BAE Systems said that a contract with the Ministry of Defence had ended. The site was sold to Redcliffe International, a company that specializes in shipping and storing explosives. It is currently allowed to store 192 tonnes of explosives across the Heapey site.
You should look at these links
- Filling Factories
- Royal Ordnance Factory
- Royal Ordnance
