Defence Use
The hill surrounding the tunnel had been extensively quarried, extracting Bath stone. During the 1930s a significant portion of the quarries were developed by Royal Engineers for the storage of munitions. This became known as the Central Ammunition Depot and served the ammunition requirements of much of the South of England. A Royal Air Force station was also established using one area of the tunnels, RAF Box, and during the war a fallback aircraft engine factory was established to the north of Box Tunnel.
To service the Central Ammunition Depot a spur line was opened, breaking off from the main line at the eastern end of the tunnel, entering alongside the main portal. This spur leads to two platforms within the quarries, used for the delivery and removal of munitions.
Following World War II portions of the Ammunition Depot were variously redeveloped to house the Central Government War Headquarters, RAF No1 Signal Unit, Controller Defence communication Network and the Corsham Computer Centre. Much of this has now been decommissioned with only Corsham Computer Centre remaining in the quarries.
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