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New Cooperage
Barrels, craft, and change.
Barrels, craft, and change.
Step up to New Cooperage and discover the story of craft, adaptation, and yet another industrious corner of of naval supply. Built in 1899, this elegantly simple, two-storey building marked a new era for Royal William Yard.
Why ‘New’ Cooperage?
By the late 1800s, the Royal Navy’s demand for barrels was shrinking. Advances in packaging and changes in victualling practices meant fewer casks were needed for shipping food, rum, and water. After the grand old Factory Cooperage’s barrel-making heyday, the Victualling Board consolidated operations here: New Cooperage was constructed to house the skilled coopers who still made and repaired the remaining supply of vital barrels.
More than just barrels
But it wasn’t only barrels that took shape within these walls. New Cooperage was also a busy hub for tradesmen: painters kept the Yard’s buildings and equipment shipshape, wheelwrights repaired carts used for ferrying supplies, and other craftsmen kept the Navy’s support machine running smoothly. This bustling workspace was a hive of hammering, planing, and painting – keeping Royal William Yard, and the fleet it supplied, ready for action.
Shifts in naval supply
As victualling needs evolved and fewer barrels were required, the building witnessed a gradual winding-down of traditional coopering. By the time the Yard closed in the late 20th century, what remained was a testament to ingenuity, heritage craft, and the quieter stories behind the Navy’s global might.
Today, New Cooperage looks out onto The Green — a handsome survivor of change, still standing as part of the Yard’s living history.
Historical Plans & Images
Image 1 - New Cooperage Building 1991 (Royal William Yard/ Real Ideas Exhibition Archive 2018)
Image 2 - Rennie Drawings - Roof Structure (National Archive, Kew)
Image 3 - Architectural Drawings of New Cooperage Elevations (National Archive, Kew)
Image 3 - Plans Elevations and Sections of the Cast Iron Doorway and Window Frame Cills and Lintels for the Coopers' Shops (National Archive, Kew)
