In 1597, the officers and Master were formally constituted as a Board, and in the early 17th century the title of “Master’ was changed to ‘Master-General’. After the restoration of Charles II in 1660 the Ordnance underwent another period of rapid growth, reflected in the completion in 1664 of the ’small Gun Office Roome’, the present New Armouries building on the east side of the Tower, which is probably the oldest surviving Ordnance building in England. In 1667 the building and maintenance of fortifications throughout the British Isles became largely the responsibility of this Office, as did the manufacture, storage and distribution of armour, which passed to the Ordnance from the defunct Office of Armoury four years later.
In 1685 the Office also took over the duties of the Office of Tents and Toils and so became responsible for storing and distributing tents, wagons and related utensils. Throughout this period the Tower remained the central arsenal of the nation. In 1688 the Master General, George Legge, Lord Dartmouth, gave instructions for a new storehouse to replace the sheds along the north side of the Tower. The Grand Storehouse, almost 110 metres long was the most impressive structure the Ordnance would build at the Tower. Other buildings, now gone, were erected or expanded in the 18th century. By 1700, however, Britain was emerging as a major imperial power and other depots were being developed, notably at Woolwich.The Board was keen to obtain control over the contractors of small arms and began providing specifications. Ordnance engineers had already made scaled models and measured drawings for gunfounders and carriage makers. In order to help regulate manufacture, a Small Gun Office and a Modelling Room were set up in 1716 on the ground floor of the medieval annex on the east side of the White Tower, from which patterns for standard weapons began to be provided. The Board’s responsibility for fortifications and barracks also led in 1716 to the creation of a Record Office and Drawing Room on the first floor of the medieval annex. It later made a major contribution to the training of cartographers and surveyors. Some staff worked on the Trigonometrical Survey of Great Britain. begun in 1791, from which arose the Ordnance Survey.
The Board had risen to the challenge of the Napoleonic Wars but, after the long period of peace which followed, performed badly at the beginning of the Crimean War, and in 1855 was swept away as part of a total rationalisation of military administration, its functions passing to the War Department.The Tower therefore took on a more specialised role in the Ordnance storage and supply system.
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