The Royal Navy purchased the land associated with Thomas Ward's ship breaking yard in1934 and began the construction of a depot for the manufacture and storage of mines. The depot utilised the site of the Newton Noyes farmstead (NPRN 4176748) and the former Oil and Manure Works (NPRN 416749). It was served by the railway line and steamer pier built in 1872. Incoming deactivated mines were transferred from the standard gauge railway to a narrow guage system linking the massive armament sheds and the six underground magazines (see NPRNs 270769-771). Each of these magazines was sealed off by ventilated blast door and thick concrete walls.The tunnels providing access to the underground magazine are some 100m in length which opens into a large stroage bay with a raised platformto allow mines to be stored at the height of the railway wagon. An overhead 10 ton crane faciliated loading and unloading. A large reservoir (NPRN 416750) was constructed by daming the stream to provide a water supply in case of fire. During World War II, the depot was uaed to arm minefields in the Western Approaches. After 1943, when the U boat threat diminshed, the depot's role change from activating mines to preparing them for shipping to the North Africa for use by the Mediterranean Fleet. The depot continued servicing naval vessels until the 1980s, when the Ministry of Defence announced its closure. The site was initially sold to Golf Oil but has since passed to ownership of the local authority. Modern aerial photography reveals that the eastern part of the site has been cleared, but areas of concrete foundations and tracks still visible.

Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, May 2012.