Historic Environment Scotland (HES) are proposing to list the guardhouses and gate piers at the factory’s main entrance; these are among the few remaining original buildings on the site which contributes towards our understanding and appreciation of the war effort.
Scheduling the buildings means they can be preserved as long as possible and listing them protects them from inappropriate future development.
The Eastriggs site was part of a huge factory complex known as His Majesty’s Factory (HMF) Gretna built in 1916/17. Back then, Gretna was known as ‘the largest factory in the Empire’. It was built to address a huge demand for munitions and it contributed to the United Kingdom and its allies’ success in the outcome of The Great War.
The Eastriggs site used to contain over 300 separate factory, laboratory, storage and administrative buildings. It survives today as a very large area comprising archaeological features (such as the footings of buildings and structural components of this giant chemistry set); the earthwork remains of protective earth bunds and in the surviving buildings.
For further information and to share your views visit: https://haveyoursay.historicenvironment.scot/heritage/eastriggs-world-war-one-cordite-factory-dumfries-g/
