The old naval bakery, now the Maritime Museum. William Scamp. 1845. Vittoriosa, Malta. Photograph, caption and commentary by Jacqueline Banerjee, 2010. [You may use the recent images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL.]
In the early 1840s, the old Order of St John's dockyards were demolished, and a Victualling Yard set up on the site; the naval steam bakery was built over an old covered slipway. Apart from its fine appearance, it was an innovational building with iron columns (see Ellul 138); "steam-propelled engines were used and the ovens were quite huge" (Grech 64). In supplying bread and biscuits to the British warships in the harbour, it played a vital role in provisioning the British Mediterranean fleet.
References
Ellul, Michael. Maltese-English Dictionary of Architecture and Building in Malta. Sta Venera, Malta: Midsea Books, 2009.
Grech, Jesmond. British Heritage in Malta. Sesto Florentino (Fi): Centro Stampa Editoriale (Plurigraf), 2003.
Last modified 10 March 2010