Royal Small Arms Factory and the RSA Interpretation Centre
Historic site · Enfield Island Village, England
The Royal Small Arms Factory site is at Enfield Island Village, and the surviving Machine Shop with its attached range to the west is listed Grade II as NHLE 1240468. The RSA Interpretation Centre inside it, at 12 Island Centre Way, EN3 6GS, is 'a small exhibition of the Royal Small Arms Factory's history' which the operator says is 'opened when community events take place around the canal basin and Community Hall', adding 'We welcome visits by prior arrangement.'
History
The operator states that 'Between 1816 and 1988 The Royal Small Arms Factory was at the heart of Britain's military small arms industry' and that the factory 'was established on a 90 acre site in the far North East corner of the London Borough of Enfield'; the Lee-Enfield rifle carries the name. The Machine Shop was listed Grade II on 2 February 1989 as NHLE 1240468; Historic England dates it '1854-58 for Board of Ordnance' and describes an 'Italianate style front to Machine Shop. One storey, 23 window range. 3-storey clock tower and belfry to centre', with cast-iron columns at roughly 20 ft intervals inside carrying wrought-iron trusses and 'Original columns cast with Board of Ordnance initials.' The railings to the east of the west range of offices are Grade II, NHLE 1079487. Restoration of the Machine Shop cost about £4 million: 'Refurbishment commenced in 1998' and 'The RSA Island Centre you see today was opened in October 2001'. Enfield Lock station, on Greater Anglia, is about 882 m away.
Visit
12 Island Centre Way, Enfield Island Village, Enfield EN3 6GS