Hampshire project transforms derelict 19th century building into new attraction for beer lovers
Conservation specialist Pritchard Architecture has completed the conversion of a historic but neglected naval gunpowder store in Hampshire into a brewery and bar that salutes the site’s former heritage.
Pritchard was commissioned to turn the grade II-listed E-Magazine building in Gosport into the venue by Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust and the Powder Monkey Brewing Co – named after the men and women who carried gunpowder from the site to ships nearby.
The project, which was supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England, has resulted in a number of carefully-designed interventions at the building, located within Gosport’s 17th century ramparts and the wider Priddy’s Hard Conservation Area.
They include opening out a window in a 3-metre-solid brick wall to create a new doorway and discretely integrating a new external yard into the existing landscape.
Visitors now enter the building via previously blocked-up arches. The building’s north chamber – which had survived with its original timber racking for gunpowder barrels, timber floorboards and gantry crane intact – is now the brewery’s public bar area and shop.
The south chamber, which was damaged by an earlier fire, has been converted into the brewing area. The lower section of timber frame and floor were removed to allow a new suspended concrete floor to be installed, and space for the new equipment.
Outside, overgrown vegetation was cut back and grass banks reinstated to allow better appreciation of the C17 ramparts. The front courtyard was gravelled to suit the military aesthetic of Priddy’s Hard.
The E-Magazine building was on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register until recently. Priddy’s Hard remains on the list.
Pritchard Architecture founding director Giles Pritchard said the adaptive reuse of E-Magazine had provided the building with a new sustainable future.
“This project has brought a significant derelict listed building back into use, through creative and sensitively designed alterations which complement the military context of the site,” he said. “It is wonderful to see the brewery successfully establish itself as a first step in transforming Priddy’s Hard.”
He said the building now added value to the local area and provided “the perfect backdrop” for a unique visitor experience at the brewery.
Pritchard Architecture did not disclose the project value.
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