Editing Board of Ordnance (section)

==Activities==

===Storage and supply: the Ordnance Yards===
====Headquarters: the Tower of London====
[[File:Tower of London (HDR) (8145459210).jpg|thumbnail|left|Arms of the Board of Ordnance at the Tower of London, New Armouries.]]
In the medieval period, storage and supply of weapons and armaments was the responsibility of the King's [[Wardrobe (government)|Wardrobe]]. Royal palaces (including the Tower of London) were therefore used for storage of armour, weapons and (in time) gunpowder. When the Office of Ordnance came into being, the Tower of London was already established as the main repository, and it remained the administrative centre of the new Board. Gunpowder was stored in the White Tower (and continued to be kept there until the mid-19th century). Small arms, ammunition, armour and other equipment were stored elsewhere within the Tower precinct, a succession of Storehouses and Armouries having been built for such purposes since the fourteenth century. From the mid-16th century bulkier items began to be stored in warehouses in the nearby [[Minories]]<ref name=Stewart96>{{cite book|last1=Stewart|first1=Richard W.|title=The English Ordnance Office: a case-study in bureaucracy|date=1996|publisher=Royal Historical Society (Boydell Press)|location=Woodbridge, Suffolk}}</ref> and cannons were [[Proof test|proof-tested]] on the '[[Old Artillery Ground]]' to the north.

Within the Tower, the New Armouries of 1664 served the Board as a small arms store (it can still be seen today in the Inner Ward). The vast Grand Storehouse of 1692 served not just as a store, but also as a museum of ordnance, precursor to today's [[Royal Armouries]]. (It was destroyed (along with its contents, some 60,000 objects) in a fire in 1841).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/stories/buildinghistory/office-of-the-ordnance |title=Tower of London website |access-date=2014-08-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140722232620/http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/stories/buildinghistory/office-of-the-ordnance |archive-date=2014-07-22 }}</ref>

The Board's administrative staff had expanded during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] to such an extent that in 1806 it purchased the lease of [[Cumberland House]] in Pall Mall and moved its main offices there, subsequently expanding into neighbouring properties. The Board itself also began to hold its meetings there, in preference to the Tower or Woolwich or other locations where it had previously been accustomed to meet. At the same time the Tower, though still technically the Board's headquarters, was mostly given over to storage.

====Central store depots: Woolwich and Weedon====
[[File:Woolwich, Royal Arsenal, J Hinchcliff 1841 LMA.jpg|250px|thumb|The Grand Store, Woolwich, in 1841: cannons and shot were routinely stored in the open, while gun carriages and other perishable items were kept indoors.]]
In the mid-17th century the Board began to use land at Woolwich for storing and proving its guns. The land (known as [[Royal Arsenal|The Warren]]) was purchased in 1671 and in 1682 a thousand cannons and ten thousand cannonballs were transferred to Woolwich from the Tower and the Minories. At the same time, the Old Artillery Ground was sold and the staff and equipment involved in proof testing moved to Woolwich.<ref name="arrows" /> From 1688 all new ordnance items were ordered to be delivered to Woolwich rather than the Tower (thereafter the Tower continued to be used as the Board's main repository for general stores).<ref>Major General A Forbes 'A History of the Army Ordnance Services' Medici Society, London 1929. Vol II</ref>

The Woolwich Warren (later renamed the [[Royal Arsenal]]) continued to serve as Britain's principal ordnance depot until the mid-twentieth century. It also developed into a major manufacturing site (see below).

During the [[Napoleonic Wars]], concerns were expressed about the vulnerability of the nation's ordnance stores to attack from the sea. One response was the establishment of a Royal Ordnance Depot at [[Weedon Bec]], well away from the coast in Northamptonshire: a sizeable complex of storehouses and gunpowder magazines constructed along a waterway, it was connected to the [[Grand Union Canal]] to facilitate access and distribution. At the same time a similar (but short-lived) facility was also built alongside the [[Grand Junction Canal]] at [[North Hyde]], west of London.

====Distribution points: the Royal Dockyards====
{{See also|Royal Naval Armaments Depot#History}}
[[File:Vulcan Building, Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth - geograph.org.uk - 493179.jpg|thumbnail|Part of the former Ordnance Yard at Portsmouth]]
The Board established storage and maintenance areas close to the [[Royal Navy Dockyard|Royal Dockyards]] to enable easy transfer of guns, ammunition, powder, etc. on board ships (for use by the Navy at sea or for delivery to the Army in areas of conflict). They also provided ordnance supplies for the defensive fortifications of the Dockyard itself, and secure storage space for ships in port (Royal Naval ships returning from duties at sea were obliged to unload their stores of powder and ammunition; if a ship was to spend time '[[in ordinary]]' (i.e. out of commission) it had its guns removed as well).

In the 16th century the Ordnance Office had established 'annexes' in Chatham, Deptford and Woolwich; others were to follow in the vicinity of the other major Dockyards. These facilities, generally known as Gun Wharves, developed into purpose-built Ordnance Yards in the course of the 18th century. Built alongside deep-water quays, they usually comprised an assortment of buildings for storage, administration blocks, workshops (for woodwork, paintwork and metalwork) together with accommodation for officers, usually built around a central Grand Storehouse (primarily used for gun carriages). Exterior courtyards were laid out for the storage of cannonballs.<ref>[https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/...48/cb4816naval.pdf English Heritage survey of Naval Dockyards]</ref>

The principal home Yards included:  
[[File:Canon in front of Chatham Library - geograph.org.uk - 1492075.jpg|thumbnail|Some of the few surviving buildings of Chatham Gun Wharf]]
*[[Chatham Dockyard#The Gun Wharf|HM Gun Wharf, Chatham]]
*[[HMNB Devonport#Morice Yard (New Gun Wharf)|Morice Yard, Devonport]] (replaced an earlier gun wharf just east of Mount Wise)
*[[Gunwharf Quays|Gunwharf, Portsmouth]]
*[[Sheerness Dockyard|Gun Wharf, Sheerness]]
*[[Woolwich Dockyard#The Gun Wharf|Gun Wharf, Woolwich]]. (In the late 17th century Woolwich Gun Wharf expanded to the east, where it developed into the [[Royal Arsenal]]: a key Ordnance Board facility.)

Smaller Yards were built in parts of Britain to serve particular strategic purposes at particular times (such as the Yard in [[Great Yarmouth]],<ref>[http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-468636-244-southtown-road-norfolk 244, Southtown Road]; [http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-468640-244b-southtown-road-norfolk 244b, Southtown Road]; [http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-468641-245-southtown-road-norfolk 245, Southtown Road] Listed building descriptions</ref> built to service the fleet stationed in Yarmouth Roads during the [[Napoleonic Wars]]).<ref name="m.english-heritage.org.uk">[http://m.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/thematic-survey-ordnance/ English Heritage: Thematic History of Ordnance Yards and Magazine Depots] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140822013505/http://m.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/thematic-survey-ordnance/ |date=2014-08-22 }}</ref>

[[File:BMMentry.JPG|thumbnail|Part of Bermuda's Ordnance Yard within the bastioned defences of Keep Yard; other Dockyard buildings lie beyond.]]
Ordnance Yards were also constructed in colonial ports overseas; like their counterparts in Britain, these were usually built in the vicinity of naval dockyards. [[Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda|Bermuda's]], begun in the 1830s, remains largely intact behind the dockyard fortifications; its magazines and storehouses are arranged around a small pool, where boats would arrive by way of a tunnel through the ramparts to be loaded with ammunition.<ref name=Coad2013>{{cite book|last1=Coad|first1=Jonathan|title=Support for the Fleet: Architecture and engineering of the Royal Navy's bases, 1700-1914|date=2013|publisher=English Heritage|location=Swindon}}</ref>

====Gunpowder storage====
{{See also|Gunpowder magazine#United Kingdom}}
For storage of gunpowder, a nearby fortified building was often used initially: the [[Square Tower]] at Portsmouth, the [[Royal Citadel, Plymouth|Citadel]] at Plymouth, [[Upnor Castle]] at Chatham; later, the Ordnance Board created purpose-built [[Gunpowder magazine|Gunpowder Magazines]], often apart from the Yards, and at a safe distance from inhabited areas.<ref name="m.english-heritage.org.uk"/> There were also smaller magazines, supervised by Ordnance Board staff, at several fortified locations around the British Isles (from [[Star Castle, Isles of Scilly|Star Castle]] on the [[Scilly Isles]], to [[Fort George, Scotland|Fort George]] near [[Inverness]]).

The Tower of London remained the main, central repository until 1694, when a new gunpowder depot was established on the banks of the Thames at [[Greenwich Peninsula]]. The location was chosen both for reasons of safety (it was largely uninhabited marshland) and for convenience (because gunpowder barrels were invariably delivered by boat). The powder arrived at Greenwich from the manufacturers. Once there it was not only stored, prior to being despatched to wherever it might be needed, but a sample from each batch was [[proof test]]ed. This took place in one of a pair of smaller buildings alongside and linked to the main magazine (which was a windowless quadrangle).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Mills|first1=Mary|title=Greenwich Marsh: the 300 years before the Dome|url=https://greenwichpeninsulahistory.wordpress.com/homepage/greenwich-marsh-by-mary-mills/chapter-2-early-industry-on-the-marsh/|website=Greenwich Peninsula History|date=21 August 2013 |access-date=31 August 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Former powder magazine, Purfleet (geograph 3606951).jpg|thumb|The Board's surviving former magazine at Purfleet.]]
Very soon, however, the Board was coming under pressure from local residents to remove the gunpowder store from Greenwich. Eventually, in 1763, a new set of magazines were built, along with a new proof-house, further downriver at [[Purfleet]]. Named the [[Gunpowder magazine#Purfleet, Essex|Royal Gunpowder Magazine]], it was likewise used as a central store, to receive and approve gunpowder from the manufacturers prior to distribution around the country. (Soon afterwards the Greenwich magazine closed, and it was later demolished.)

At around the same time, significant improvements were made to the gunpowder depots at the Dockyards (where the Board was still often using old buildings in built-up areas). New purpose-built storage facilities were constructed close to the principal Dockyards at Portsmouth ([[Priddy's Hard]]) and  Devonport (Keyham Point), and at Chatham the Upnor facility was (eventually) expanded. These centres continued to grow, as the processes for refining and preserving gunpowder became more complicated and as new explosives began to be used, requiring their own storage and maintenance areas.

In 1850, Devonport's magazine depot was moved from Keyham to a new complex at Bull Point (where it was integrated with a nearby proofing and purifying facility) - this proved to be the last major construction project of the Board of Ordnance before its disestablishment.

====Other items====
The Board of Ordnance was responsible, throughout its existence, for supplying the Army and Navy with weapons and ammunition. Other items were provided by various other boards and agencies (or, in earlier times, by private contractors). From 1822, however, the Board was given responsibility for sourcing, storing and supplying a variety of other items for the Army, including tents and camp equipment (formerly the remit of the Army's Storekeeper-General) and 'barrack stores' (for which the [[Commissariat#British Army|Commissariat]] had been responsible since 1807). Later, in 1834, the Board inherited (also from the Commissariat) the task of providing food and 'fuel' (namely coal and candles for use in barracks) for all homeland troops, as well as [[forage]] for cavalry regiments.<ref name="Roper1998" />

===Manufacture: the Ordnance Factories===
Prior to the 18th century the Board had generally relied on private contracts for the provision of armaments: small arms often came from the [[Birmingham Gun Quarter]], gunpowder from [[Faversham explosives industry|Faversham]] (also, later, from [[Waltham Abbey (town)|Waltham Abbey]]). Cannons and shot were procured from iron foundries (initially those in the [[Wealden iron industry|Kent and Sussex Weald]], later from further afield, e.g. from the [[Carron Works]] in Falkirk). More expensive 'brass' (bronze) ordnance was produced on a smaller scale, by specialist foundries mostly in the London area (in [[Houndsditch]], [[Vauxhall]], [[Southwark]], at [[The Foundery]] in [[Moorfields]] and elsewhere). In time, the Board made moves to set up or purchase its own facilities.<ref>[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/details?Uri=C1083 National Archives: historical summary]</ref>

====Artillery manufacture====
[[File:Flickr - davehighbury - Royal Artillery Museum Woolwich London 297.jpg|thumbnail|Guns of various ages displayed at the former Royal Arsenal site]]
The Board's primary manufacturing site, and a key location for several of its activities, was the [[Royal Arsenal]] in [[Woolwich]]. Guns had been stored and proved there from the mid-17th century. It later expanded into a large-scale production facility, specializing in: 
* manufacture of shells, projectiles and propellants (Royal Laboratory, established at Woolwich in 1695, previously based at Greenwich)
* manufacture of cannons, mortars and other artillery pieces (Royal Brass Foundry (aka Gun Factory), founded 1717)
* manufacture of gun carriages and other ancillary items (1750s onwards; given identity as the Royal Carriage Works in 1803).

====Gunpowder manufacture====
Gunpowder manufacture was mostly kept separate of other operations (though some took place at Woolwich in the early years, inherited from the [[Wardrobe (government)|Wardrobe]]'s earlier activities at Greenwich Palace). Beginning in the 18th century, the Board began to purchase mills that had been established under private ownership:
*Faversham became the [[Faversham explosives industry|Royal Powder Mill]] in 1759
*Waltham Abbey became the [[Royal Gunpowder Factory, Waltham Abbey|Royal Gunpowder Factory]] in 1787
*In Ireland, the [[Ballincollig Royal Gunpowder Mills]] were purchased in 1805, having been set up as a private enterprise ten years earlier.
Ordnance Board activity at Ballincollig ceased in 1815; both it and Faversham were returned to private ownership in the 1820s-30s, but Waltham Abbey remained in Government hands until 1991.

====Small Arms manufacture====
Small arms manufacture was begun by the Board on Tower Wharf in 1804, before being moved to [[Lewisham]] (Royal Manufactory of Small Arms, 1807) and then transferring ten years later to [[Enfield Town|Enfield]] ([[Royal Small Arms Factory]], opened 1816). RSAF Enfield continued manufacturing until its closure in 1988.
There is some indication that William Galloway, a gunsmith, produced long guns for the Tower's small arms office in the 1780s.

===Forts and fortifications===
[[File:Three guns and three cannonballs.jpg|thumb|Board of Ordnance shield on part of [[Elizabeth Castle]], [[Jersey]]]]
From the mid-17th century the Board of Ordnance began to be involved in the design, building and upkeep of forts, fortifications and various garrison buildings. Around the year 1635, a Francis Coningsby was appointed 'Commissary-General of all His Majesty's Castles in England and Wales'. From 1660 the title was Engineer-in-Chief. The Chief Engineer had responsibility for drawing up designs, supervising site surveys and building works, and visiting established defence sites to evaluate their state of repair, readiness etc. An illustrious holder of this post was [[Sir Bernard de Gomme]]. In 1802 the post of Inspector General of Fortifications was established, and this official took over supervision of these works.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Saunders|first1=Andrew|title=Fortress Britain|date=1989|publisher=Beaufort|location=Liphook, Hants.}}</ref>

====Barracks====
{{See also|Barracks#United Kingdom}}
The Board also had responsibility for the building, upkeep and management of [[barracks]] and associated structures (except during a 30-year period, 1792-1822, when responsibility was transferred to a separate Barrack Office).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Douet|first1=James|title=British Barracks 1660-1914|date=1997}}</ref> Before this time, barracks were a rarity in mainland Britain and (other than those attached to royal residences) they were generally only found within [[garrison]]ed fortifications. In the wake of the [[French Revolution]], however, there was a spate of barrack building and the new post of Barrackmaster-General was established to oversee it; he was answerable not to the Board of Ordnance but to the [[Secretary at War]]. (The Board, though, retained responsibility for providing and provisioning barracks for its own corps). Apparent mismanagement in the Barrack Office led to a series of inquiries, however, and following the [[Napoleonic Wars]] responsibility for barracks was returned to the Board of Ordnance.<ref name="Roper1998" />

===Personnel: the Ordnance Corps===
A number of different Corps were established by the Board of Ordnance to carry out its work both in its home establishments and on the field of battle; they had (and to some extent retain) a very distinctive identity and ethos. Principal among these were the [[Royal Artillery]] and the [[Royal Engineers]]. These Corps were under the authority of the Board of Ordnance, rather than the War Office (until the Board's demise in 1855). They were not part of the Army, and their officers' commissions were issued by the Master-General of the Ordnance rather than by the [[Commander-in-Chief of the Forces]]. The Ordnance Medical Department was established to provide surgeons for these corps.

====Royal Artillery====
In 1716 the Duke of Marlborough, in his capacity as Master General of the Ordnance, oversaw the formation (by Royal Warrant) of two permanent companies of field artillery, based (together with their guns) at the Warren ([[Royal Arsenal]]), Woolwich. Prior to this, [[artillery piece]]s had been conveyed to the front line in any conflict by ''ad hoc'' [[Train (military)|artillery trains]] (their personnel convened for a limited duration by Royal Warrant). The men of the new artillery companies (which became the Royal Regiment of Artillery from 1722) now provided troops for this purpose; before long, they were also providing guns and heavy artillery for forts and garrisons around the country and indeed across the Empire. In addition, the Artillerymen did on-site work at the Arsenal and at other Ordnance Board facilities, from preparing fuses and proving weapons to providing a guard. 1793 saw the formation of the [[Royal Horse Artillery]] (who were likewise under the authority of the Board of Ordnance) to provide artillery support to the Cavalry.<ref>[http://www.nam.ac.uk/research/famous-units/royal-artillery National Army Museum regimental history page]</ref>

====Royal Engineers====
From the start, the Board (and its predecessor the Office) of Ordnance had had a department of military engineers and surveyors to build and improve harbours, forts and other fortifications. In 1716 a Corps of Engineers was founded by the Board of Ordnance, again at their Woolwich base. Initially an officer-only corps, the Engineers (called Royal Engineers from 1787) were engaged in the design, construction and ongoing maintenance of defences, fortifications and other military installations. They were also engaged for large-scale civilian projects from time to time. A civilian corps  of 'artificers' provided the non-commissioned workforce of carpenters, stonemasons, bricklayers and other labourers; this corps was militarized in 1787, and named the Royal Military Artificers (they were then renamed the Royal Sappers and Miners 25 years later). The year after the demise of the Ordnance Board, the Sappers and Miners were fully amalgamated into the Royal Engineers, and at the same time the Corps moved from Woolwich to its present headquarters in [[Chatham, Kent|Chatham]].{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

====Other corps====
A [[Royal Army Ordnance Corps#Before Crimea|Field Train Department]] was established in 1792 to serve as 'the field force element of the Board of Ordnance Storekeeping system';<ref name="Sharpe1993">{{cite book |last1=Sharpe |first1=L. C. |title=The Field Train Department of the Board of Ordnance 1793-1859 |date=1993 |publisher=Royal Logistic Corps museum}}</ref> staffed by uniformed civilians, the Department had oversight of the supply and provision of small arms, ammunition and other armaments to all front-line troops. After the Board's demise, the Ordnance Field Train was consolidated, together with the Ordnance Storekeepers and others, into a new Military Store Department, which eventually formed a key part of the [[Royal Army Ordnance Corps]].

In 1796 a [[Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers]] was raised (separate from the Royal Artillery itself) to provide horses and drivers for conveying the [[field guns]] from place to place.<ref name="Sharpe93" /> (Before this time civilian drivers were used and horses either requisitioned or hired on contract).<ref name="Roper1998" /> In 1822 the Corps of Drivers was fully amalgamated into the Royal Artillery.

The [[Royal Corps of Military Surveyors and Draftsmen|Corps of Royal Military Surveyors and Draftsmen]] was a military corps under the Board of Ordnance, formally established in 1800 and disbanded in 1817.<ref>[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C221 Records of the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain] 2016-01-21.</ref> It supported the work of the [[Ordnance Survey]];<ref>[https://www.royalarmouries.org/visit-us/tower-of-london/things-to-see/power-house/institutions-of-the-tower/ordnance-survey Royal Armouries: Ordnance Survey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703142603/https://royalarmouries.org/visit-us/tower-of-london/things-to-see/power-house/institutions-of-the-tower/ordnance-survey |date=2016-07-03 }} 2106-01-21.</ref> after 1824 these duties were undertaken by Survey Companies of the Royal Corps of Sappers and Miners. Both corps were overseen by officers of the Royal Engineers in this work.<ref name="Roper1998" />

The Ordnance Medical Department was formed in 1801 (prior to this date medical officers were included on the establishment of the Royal Artillery). It was overseen by the Inspector General of Ordnance Hospitals, based at the Royal Artillery Hospital, Woolwich, who made recommendation for the appointment and promotion of medical officers, issued them with instructions and guidance, and had oversight of the management of Artillery Hospitals (of which there were eighteen Great Britain in 1810, and others in Ireland).<ref name="ComMilEnqXVII">{{cite book |title=XVIIth Report of the Commissioners of Military Enquiry |date=1812 |publisher=Parliament (House of Lords) |location=London |pages=232–233}}</ref> Initially set up as 'the Medical Establishment for the Military Department of the Ordnance', its remit was extended to cover 'the Military and Civil Departments of the Ordnance' in 1814. In 1853 it was merged into the [[Royal Army Medical Corps|Army Medical Department]].<ref name=Roper1998>{{cite book |last1=Roper |first1=Michael |title=The Records of the War Office and Related Departments, 1660-1964 |date=1998 |publisher=Public Record Office |location=Kew, Surrey }}</ref>

In 1796 [[Edward Coleman (veterinary surgeon)|Edward Coleman]] was appointed Veterinary Surgeon to the Board of Ordnance. He oversaw the training and appointment of more [[veterinary surgeons]] to provide for the needs of Artillery and Engineer horses; and in 1805 he supervised the setting up of a Veterinary Establishment in Woolwich (later named the Royal Horse Infirmary) which functioned as a hospital, veterinary store and centre of veterinary research.<ref name="Routledge2016">{{cite book |last1=Hunter |first1=Pamela |title=Veterinary Medicine: A Guide to Historical Sources |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon, Oxon.}}</ref> After the [[Crimean War]], it became ''de facto'' headquarters of the emergent [[Army Veterinary Department]].

===Education and training===
[[File:WOOLWICH ARSENAL WOOLWICH LONDON SEP 2012 (8057691504).jpg|thumbnail|The original Royal Military Academy building in Woolwich Arsenal; it also contained a Board Room for meetings of the Ordnance Board itself.]]
The Board of Ordnance placed a high value on providing its future officers with a scientific and military education. In the eighteenth century there was no requirement for would-be Army officers to receive any formal military education; but the Board, in contrast, moved fast (after the establishment of its artillery and engineer corps) to provide for the education of its officer cadets. The Board was also ahead of the Army in its provision of advanced training for officers.

====The Royal Military Academy====
In 1720 there were moves to set up an 'academy' within the Warren at Woolwich where the corps were based; and on 30 April 1741 the Academy was formally established there by Royal Warrant. The fact that the Warren itself was a place of scientific experiment and innovation no doubt helped form the style of education that emerged. Initially, it was a gathering of 'gentlemen cadets', brought together to learn 'gunnery, fortification, mathematics and a little French'.  By 1764, the institution had been renamed the [[Royal Military Academy, Woolwich|Royal Military Academy]], and in the words of the Survey of London, 'it became a uniquely enlightened establishment in which training comprehended writing, arithmetic, algebra, Latin, French, mathematics, fortification, together with the attack and defence of fortified places, gunnery, mining and laboratory-works [...] along with the gentlemanly skills of dancing and fencing'.<ref name="SL48">Saint & Guillery, ''The Survey of London vol. 48: Woolwich'', Yale, 2012.</ref> In time, the Academy outgrew its original home in the Arsenal, and in 1806 it moved into new headquarters on [[Woolwich Common]]. In 1946 it amalgamated with the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst|Royal Military College]] to form the [[Royal Military Academy Sandhurst]].

====Specialist training====
[[File:Royal Artillery Repository Exercises, 1844.jpg|thumb|Repository training, Woolwich Common, 1844.]]
The Royal Military Repository was established, also within the Warren, in 1778 to provide practical, theoretical and historical training in gunnery, both for officers and other ranks; it too moved to Woolwich Common in the early 19th century. The Royal Engineer Establishment was established by the Board in [[Chatham, Kent|Chatham]] in 1812, to provide advanced training for its Engineer officers; it was subsequently renamed the [[Royal School of Military Engineering|School of Military Engineering]].<ref name="Roper1998" />

===Other activities===

====Mapmaking: the Ordnance Survey====
As part of its duty of maintaining and building harbours and fortifications, a department of the Board was in place to undertake surveys and to produce [[map]]s. This department developed into the [[Ordnance Survey]], which remains in place today as Britain's national mapping agency.<ref>The purchase of the [[Ramsden theodolite]] in 1791, for use in the [[Principal Triangulation of Great Britain]], is now taken as the starting point of the [[Ordnance Survey]]</ref> The principal offices and drawing room of the Survey were in the Tower of London; this not only accommodated surveyors and draughtsmen, but also functioned as a place where cadets (some as young as eleven or twelve) were trained in mathematics and draughtsmanship by leading practitioners. In 1841 a fire prompted the Survey to move to [[Ordnance Survey buildings, Southampton|new premises in Southampton]]; following the demise of the Board, it became part of the [[War Department (United Kingdom)|War Department]].<ref>{{cite book
|year=1980
|editor-first=W. A.
|editor-last=Seymour
|title=A History of the Ordnance Survey
|publisher=Dawson
|location=Folkestone, England
|isbn= 0-7129-0979-6
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PWkKAQAAIAAJ
|oclc=654935343
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite book
|year=1992 |first1=Tim  |last1=Owen  |first2=Elaine |last2=Pilbeam
|title=Ordnance Survey, map makers to Britain since 1791
|publisher=Ordnance Survey (HMSO)
|location=Southampton
|isbn=9780319002490
|oclc=28220563
}}</ref>

====The Geological Survey====
The Ordnance Geological Survey, the world's first national [[geological survey]], was established by the board in 1835;<ref name="Roper1998" /> ten years later, under the terms of the [[Geological Survey Act 1845]]	
([[8 & 9 Vict.]] c. 63), responsibility for the survey passed from the Board to the [[Office of Woods and Forests|Office of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings]].<ref name="BGS">{{cite web |title=Our History |url=https://www.bgs.ac.uk/about-bgs/our-work/our-history/#1835 |website=BGS: British Geological Survey |access-date=1 June 2021}}</ref> Known since 1984 as the [[British Geological Survey]], it remains active as a national research and advisory body.

====The Global Magnetic Survey====

In 1839 the government gave its support to Major (later Sir) [[Edward Sabine]] for the establishment of four fixed magnetic and meteorological observatories in different parts of the world: one in [[Hobarton]], one in [[Cape Town]], one on [[Saint Helena]], one in [[Toronto]]. The first would be overseen by Admiralty, staffed by officers of the [[Ross expedition]]; the other three were to be staffed by Artillery officers, under the authority of the Board of Ordnance.<ref name="Duncan1873">{{cite book |last1=Duncan |first1=Francis |title=History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, Volume 2 |date=1873 |publisher=J. Murray |location=London |pages=465–469}}</ref> Sabine's intention was to undertake a global survey of [[terrestrial magnetism]]. Once the observatories were established, measurements were taken every two hours, day and night, at precisely the same moment in all four stations; the results were then conveyed to Sabine at his Magnetic Office in the Royal Artillery Institution Observatory at Woolwich. Measurements continued for three years at Hobarton, six years at Cape Town and Saint Helena, and nine years at Toronto. After this, the observatories (apart from Saint Helena's, which was dismantled) were handed over to the respective local governments; that in Toronto went on to becoming the [[Toronto Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory]]. In England, Sabine maintained his Magnetic Office at the observatory in Woolwich until 1871, when it moved to [[Kew Observatory]].<ref name="Duncan1873" />

====The Royal Observatory, Greenwich====
In 1675, the post of Astronomer Royal was established by royal warrant. The Board of Ordnance was warranted to pay the astronomer's salary, and also to construct a [[Royal Observatory, Greenwich|Royal Observatory in Greenwich]]. This has been called the first instance of government funding for science; money was to be provided from 'the sale of old or decayed gunpowder'.<ref>[http://www.royalobservatorygreenwich.org/articles.php?article=957 The Royal Observatory: history]</ref> The Board of Ordnance continued to provide annual funding for the observatory until 1818, when the Admiralty took over this responsibility. Despite providing funds, the board was not in any way involved in the operational side of the observatory, which was managed independently by the Astronomer Royal under the governance of a board of visitors.