The Buildings
home | the buildings | main stores (405)
Main Stores (405)
Built: 1951
Decommissioned: 2002
It's surprising that this ancillary building, namely site's Main Stores, should share space on this website alongside
the unique test cells, control rooms and cooling towers. But it was an important supportive building during the lifetime
of Pyestock and after
closure it managed to become slightly infamous (but not for its structure or history, but for what it contained).
|
|
As a storage building was useful during the construction of the first phases of the site, it’s no coincidence
that the Main Stores was one of the first buildings erected. Additionally this ensured the Main Stores was near the
southern entrance, so deliveries didn’t have to venture far into Pyestock itself.
Its structure was simple: a double storey central hall traversed most of the length of the building and was
the main storage space; it was flanked either side with single storey side rooms which offered specialised
storage areas (such as the glass store) or were converted into laboratories.
Externally the building was a squat elongated steel framed shed with brick walls for the side rooms. All the
exposed metalwork was painted in Pyestock’s signature blue. The central hall had a heightened ceiling
allowing axial windows to be installed in the first storey.
It turned out to be a popular design, as the building's form was repeated again to the north (as the much
longer Main Workshop).
The northern end of the Main Stores was the site's Fire Station. External double garage doors
lead into an interior parking bay where the fire engines would patiently wait. Given the nature of the testing at
Pyestock and the sheer amount of chemicals and combustibles on site (not to mention the large quantities
of aviation fuel) an on-site specialised and fully equipped fire service was an absolute necessity.
|
The northern end of the Main Stores with access doors for fire engines.
31|03|07 © Simon Cornwell 2007
|
After the closure of most of the site in 2002, QinetiQ rented out the Main Stores to
FAST at a peppercorn rate for storage of items
for the museum. After Qinetiq sold the Pyestock site for redevelopment, FAST had to find another home for their collection but I wonder if
some of the items now found in the Main Stores were left behind from this period. Although this doesn't really explain the full
sized Farnborough Kestrel plane which still sits in the main hall
along with its sister (which is in a small side annexe).
It's thanks to these planes that the Main Stores was elevated in status by urban explorers, and became much more than just an empty
storeroom in the south western corner of Pyestock.
|
Main store room in the Main Stores looking north.
31|03|07 © Simon Cornwell 2007
|
Stores Walkthrough...
|
