.jpg "Aerial view of Royal Arsenal Riverside (with CGI of The Warehouse No.1 Street)")
History
Carriage Department - History
The department was formed in the early 1800's due to the ever increasing demand and variation in carriage design. It became one of the most prestigious departments being the first to introduce steam as a prime mover. Guns were never manufactured in the building but were transported in by rail and road to be fitted to the carriages.
The clock on the north façade was built and installed by Thwaites in 1806, the clockmaker to the Board of Ordnance, at a cost of £542 - 7s – 2 d. The clock has recently been restored and forms part of the new development.
The main workshop became one of the largest buildings on the site, with a new roof being installed to the building in 1937. A number of well known engineers plied their trade in the Carriage department - Marc Isambard Brunel, father of Isambard, and Henry Maudsley who was born in Woolwich in 1771 in a house on Beresford Square. The building was used as part of a film set for the film 'Operation Crossbow' starring Sophia Loren and George Peppard, and, after the closure of the Ordnance factory in 1967 the building was used by the RAF for storage purposes.
