Behind the colonnade is a long triangular yard, which had cattle pens along one side, the slaughterhouse on the other and an office at the far end. Live animals would enter via an arched gateway, just north of the Main Gate, directly into the cattle yard. Up to 100 bullocks per day were slaughtered here to provide fresh meat for vessels anchored in the sound (whereas salted meat, for vessels going to sea, was brought in from the Commissioners' main Victualling Yard at Deptford). The building was in use for this purpose for 26 years from 1859; thereafter it was used for storage. Most recently, the Slaughterhouse has been used as a centre for building repair and maintenance.