It was built to manufacture cordite and the site was located adjacent to what is now known as the East Coast Main Line railway at Ranskill, Nottinghamshire, just north of the town of Retford.
Ministry of Works Surveys indicated a suitable site near Retford at Danes Hill between Lound and Ranskill being the perfect location.
As Danes Hill Farm was central, Bridge Road (beach tree avenue past the site) was extended to join Common Lane at Ranskill and to the station.
Owing to heavy main line traffic over the level crossing further land adjoining the Ranskill sidings was taken, giving direct access connection from the main line north bound at Ranskill and south bound at Torworth into the eight goods and two passenger sidings and into the factory.
It was the last Cordite-producing Royal Ordnance Factory to be built in the UK in World War II and was the smallest of the three Cordite ROFs, covering about 494 acres (200 ha).
[3] Once the plant had been constructed, it could produce 300 tons a week of soventless cordite of different diameters to suit the many types of military weapons in use.
In the 1990’s the northwest area, (train sidings from Torworth and gun cotton sheds) was turned into a Nottinghamshire County Council land-fill disposal site.