Totley Powder Store

Work to stabilise the Totley powder store is now complete. The National Trust building team have done a lovely job on the brick work and have kept the original details in place. It is now clear to see the small porch area which was likely to have had a flagstone roof, there is then a recess which would have held the door frame. The main building would have had an arched roof formed of bricks with a render on the outside.

The structure had been believed to be one of the sighting towers built to aid the construction of the Totley Railway Tunnel, which when opened in 1893, was the longest rail tunnel covering a distance of 3 miles and 950 yards. Further investigation now suggests that the structure was actually used as a powder store.

The feature is a rare survival of 19th Century railway heritage and is very visible in the landscape. It was in a vulnerable state with block sections of wall having fallen, and due to the exposed location, was vulnerable to further deterioration. Stabilisation will ensure that this landscape feature is not lost and that we are able to tell the story of the pioneering engineering works undertaken to construct the Totley Tunnel.

The work was carried out by the National Trust building team with help from Eastern Moors volunteers and funded by Natural England via our HLS scheme and the Eastern Moors Partnership.