Powder House, Irvine Town's Magazine, c.1642

The Powder House is Irvine's gunpowder magazine and is a small octagonal building on the Golffields. It was probably built about 1642 to store large quantities of powder well away from the town's population.

In 1880, the Powder House was visited by a Government Inspector and the council were told by the Home Office that it couldn't be used for storing gunpowder anymore. By then a few traders in the town were leasing space in it and it was also used by the Rifle Corps.

Today the Powder House is the best surviving example of its kind in Scotland and the oldest.

Useful websites

• Canmore
• Wikipedia