From Farmland, To Factory, To Forest

"The surface, at a distance, looks black and dirty, and will bear neither horse nor man….. What nature meant by such a useless production ‘tis hard to imagine, but the land is entirely to waste".

So wrote Daniel DeFoe as he passed Risley Moss in 1724 on the road between Warrington and Manchester. 

Travellers, including the Romans, largely avoided this inhospitable area, but through centuries of human toil the forests were gradually cleared and the mosslands reclaimed. 

By the end of the 19^th Century, Risley, as the area was originally known, comprised 30 tenant farms, a gamekeeper’s lodge and a peat cutting industry based at Risley Moss. Risley had become one of the most fertile agricultural villages in the country, growing cereal crops and vegetables and was especially well known for its giant celery. 

However, the onset of the Second World War was to change the face of the landscape forever. In 1939 much of the farmland was acquired by the Government by compulsory purchase for the construction of Risley Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF). Within 18 months a huge complex covering 927 acres of prime agricultural land was built; including 1,800 small buildings and a network of roads and railway links. 

The factory was divided into rectangular sections each serving a different function:- 

Area Function 

1. Filling fuses and detonators
2. Filling cartridge bags
3. Pressing chambers
4. Secret experimental area
5. Final assembly of shell, cartridge and detonator
6. Detonator assembly
7. Shell filling
8. Shell filling
9. Powder storage (bunkers)
10. Perimeter building, laundries, garages, gates, administration, bus and rail depots
11. Laboratories and experimental area
12. Boiler house and heating systems        

Such was the importance of security within the factory that groups of workers were kept separate, discouraged from talking to each other about their work and had their own buses inside the factory to take them to their different areas. 

An average of 22,000 workers were needed to keep the factory in production. Most of these were women, many of whom came over from Ireland and the North East and lived in specially built hostels. 

One of the most dangerous jobs took place in area 6 (now Gorse Covert). Many women lost a finger whilst handling the particularly volatile explosive powder used to fill the detonators. 

Although the Germans knew of the existence of the factory, it was never bombed due to its cleverly chosen location. 

"It was very lonely and misty at night, and that’s why the factory was constructed there ….. it was usually covered with a mist or cloud. It was hard to see it in the day time, you know".  As Mr. Cleavely, a local builder, remembered. 

To further hinder its detection from the air, parts of the complex, including the 20 underground bunkers that were used as powder storage magazines, were grassed and given over to sheep grazing. 

Factory Facts

• Four remaining bunkers can be seen next to Forest Park playing fields.
• The factory took twice as long to demolish (3 years) as it did to build due to the strength of the reinforced concrete used to build the bunkers.
• Pestfurlong Hill and all other mounds are man made. The demolition rubble from the ROF was used to create them.
• The main entrance to the factory was situated at Oakwood Gate Park. 6000 people would arrive all at once at the huge bus terminal to begin their shift.
• The walled garden has been created from the former ROF reservoir. The sluice gate mechanism can still be found hidden away in a corner.        

The Creation of a New Landscape

At the end of the war production of ammunition ceased as the ROF was built as an emergency factory only. It was then used by the Admiralty as a storage depot until 1961, except for the north west section which was taken over by UKAEA in 1956. 

The huge disused site was put up for sale in 1963 but no buyer could be found. 

In 1968 Warrington and Runcorn Development Corporation acquired the ROF, which at the time formed one of the largest derelict land sites in Europe.
The factory was demolished and over 500 acres of woodland, meadows and green corridors were created in and around the new town of Birchwood. 

Existing pockets of woodland or scrub were incorporated into the landscape where possible, whilst ridges and mounds were formed from the demolition rubble of the factory to create a more varied topography. The woodlands of Birchwood were designed to provide parkland more consistent with the natural countryside. Native tree species were planted to create habitats for a great variety of birds, insects and mammals. 

If you would like to know more about the history and development of the area a selection of maps, photographs and documents can be viewed at the Birchwood Forest Park Ranger Centre or the Visitor Centre at Risley Moss Local Nature Reserve.