The site was originally conceived as the National Machine Gun Factory but by the time construction was completed in November 1918 the
First World War was over and no machine guns were ever manufactured there.
Crosse & Blackwell briefly used the factory for producing pickle (
Branston Pickle) between 1920 and 1925 and the Branston Artificial Silk Company produced
Rayon there between 1927 and 1930. During the
Second World War Branston Depot served as a major ordnance facility; the depot closed in 1961 when operations moved to
Bicester. ==See also==