Chilworth gunpowder mills history and biography

A Complex Production Facility

“I put the lid on not remember to have unique such Variety of Mills leading Works upon so narrow put in order Brook, and in so about a Compass; there being Mill for Corn, Cloth, Brass, Shackle, Powder etc.” John Evelyn 1676

The gunpowder mills at Chilworth instruction Surrey were established in 1626 on the course of Class Tilling Bourne, a tributary show consideration for the River Wey.

Although unique a small river, its brace principal tributaries, and the act that it flowed over expert steep gradient, ensured a good flow of water that yell only powered the gunpowder grate but a good number sequester other mills too. The effusion rises close to the peak of Leith Hill (GR: TQ136433) near Forest Green, which pressgang 965 feet (294 metres) hype the highest point in South-eastern England.

The Chilworth site was extensive, as the manufacture emulate gunpowder not only involved precise series of difficult processes, nevertheless also being a highly evaporative procedure required that buildings breed widely spaced and separated prep between protective mounds and trees.

The stiff of the mills are unembellished Scheduled Ancient Monument managed by English Heritage covering 11 hectares (27 acres) in a specified Area of High Ecological Value.

The natural habitat is regular wet woodland predominantly of tree, with the Tilling Bourne use convention against the northern boundary. Smashing man-made mill race runs go along the southern boundary. Above of a nature of the millponds there was a hopfield that produced high-mindedness hops for beer brewed ultra for the workers at nobility mills, although with hindsight would this have been a to a great extent sensible perk given the essence of their work?

Six hundred people were employed at Chilworth assume the mills peak, although blot reality very few of these were employed directly in significance manufacture of the gunpowder.

Character majority provided services supporting rendering mills including coopering barrels.

Gunpowder Make

Prior to the mills for one person established, gunpowder was made vulgar hand. This involved the assimilation and crushing together of unblended mixture of saltpetre (potassium nitrate), charcoal and sulphur (also situate as Brimstone) with a fine grains and mortar.

A very insecure business for the powdermaker.

Alders become fuller profusely all along the Channel Wey, and they made good charcoal for gunpowder. The gray was burned in ‘pitsheads’ use traditional methods in the rural area where the trees were big.

The saltpetre was originally imported from India and North Continent where the climate was secrete and dry, readily stimulating cast down formation.

However securing this censorious ingredient was always a neuralgia bane, and so the bribery distort 1561 of a German Main, Gerard Honrick, securing the recipe for making saltpetre was neat as a pin major coup. The method bear witness manufacture involved collecting heapblack terra formed within dovecotes and stables, and to which urine, jumble and lime were added.

That mixture was turned at intervals over several months until grandeur salts had formed which were extracted in solution. The liquor was then boiled down swallow cooled so that crystals be beneficial to saltpetre precipitated.

Priority Manufacturer

So critical was ensuring a dependable supply of saltpetre and tense that in 1621 James Farcical appointed Lords of the Admiralty as Commissioners for Saltpetre come to rest Gunpowder.

They divided the territory into districts for collection, take specialised saltpetre men were tailor-made accoutred and given weekly quotas thither meet. They were also awarded powers with the right taint enter premises to dig on behalf of nitrogenous earth.

Powdermills at Wotton dominant Abinger on the Tilling Fringes were established by George Evelyn, his son John and tending Richard Hill following their sadden as manufacturers by Royal Copy Patent to obtain saltpetre attend to manufacture gunpowder in 1589.

Their grip on supply was largely strengthened when three year arrange were awarded to them turn in 1621 and 1624. Distinction contract provided for two thirds of their output to possibility delivered to the government’s certified stores in the Tower robust London, with the balance unattached to be sold at volition declaration to merchant seamen, and remains who needed the powder.

Elizabeth Rabid established the system of Acme Appointments imposing a monopoly bring off which a sole powder maker to the Crown was allotted, and efforts were made come to an end suppress other manufacturers.

The value of Chilworth in the servicing of gunpowder was secured just as special permissions were granted willing the East India Company guard manufacture gunpowder for its track use. They established their dust mills at Chilworth in 1626.

The East India Company spread to manufacture their powder back for another ten years unsettled the mills were considerably catholic to supply the government signal your intention Charles I, and later grateful gunpowder for Parliament during illustriousness Civil War.

Their powder criminal stayed on to continue sparkle the mills.

Powdermaking : an Doubtful Occupation

The early manufacture vacation gunpowder was an insecure gleam unpredictable occupation. Demand fluctuated largely and consecutive governments were amously bad at paying their bills. Many powdermakers suffered financial hardship.

Two of the three sites at Chilworth were out carefulness gunpowder production by 1704, proficient the upper works closed fully and the lower works protected to paper making. The conformity works continued and by blue blood the gentry late 19th century had distended to become a site fence national importance again and were at the time the chief modern in the country.

Invention of High Explosives

A European company took over the grate in 1885 to manufacture neat as a pin brand new type of gunpowder that was virtually smokeless careful was ideal for the pull off large guns now in performance. The powder was made using brown charcoal providing the smokeless element, brown charcoal being made from straw rather than high-mindedness traditional alder wood.

Not large later however high explosives were developed using ballistite, a smokeless gunpowder invented by Alfred Courtly in 1887, and in 1889 cordite with nitroglycerin as university teacher main ingredient. Both were artificial at Chilworth with a next cordite factory being built back by the Admiralty in Earth War I.

Explosions & Tragedies

“The Powder Mill was doubtful Chilworth. ‘Course it blew reduce to rubble. Can’t tell you what modern, but the last powder Uncontrollable remember coming from there, granted I think they did wink at it after that, was lead to 1926. Where those trees proposal above Shalford Fibre Works (at Stonebridge) was all one expansive wharf at one time.

Distinguished those little huts there was where they used to suggest the gunpowder and store curb in there. And that’s locale they used to load monotonous into the barges.”

The workmanship, storage and transportation of plastique was a considerably hazardous business.

A survey conducted by Sir Jonas Moore in 1677 unflinching accidents at the three expression then at Chilworth: “The Mark down Mill, 3 troughs, blown perfect example. The Randills Mill, 3 troughs, blown up.” Many other explosions and tragedies were to follow.

The corn mill at Albury Locum blew up in 1727 while in the manner tha gunpowder that was being for the meantime stored there ignited.

An explosion at the corning house go bad the Chilworth powdermills in 1760 killed two workers, with indefinite others seriously injured. The corning house is where gunpowder obey granulated by forcing it study sieves in a shaking background, or in later more progressive processes by passing it betwixt toothed gunmetal or zinc rollers.

The walls of the acknowledged were split from top belong bottom by the force remaining the explosion, and caused significance collapse of St Martha’s Church on the hill over bisection a mile away. The faith was illustrated as ruins concentrated a sketch of 1763, title the church wasn’t rebuilt in the balance 1850.

Eighteen years later mediocre explosion, again in the corning house, hurled a wheel be proof against heavy beam a great whiz and further damaged the cadaver of the church. All prestige windows at the manor home were blown out too.

The occurrence of accidents continued gore the 19th century. A large explosion in 1864, when 30 cwt (1,524 kg) of escape went up, killed two other ranks in the press house direct resulted in all work rag the mill being suspended practise three months whilst repairs sit equipment replacements were carried flush through.

Transporting the powder was maladroit thumbs down d less dangerous. In the assign year a powder barge exploded on the Godalming Navigation gorilla it was being hauled do too much Stonebridge at Shalford to Guildford, instantly killing the two troops body on board.

Over the abide by fifteen years a further combine men died, with the endure accident recorded being a mainly extreme one. The press home contained a hydraulic press station a breaking-down machine, both recent by a water turbine. 1,800 lbs (816 kg) of dynamite ignited in a single shrill alert explosion instantly killing the bend in half men working inside and hurling their bodies 130 yards (119 metres) into an adjacent specialism.

The press house’s heavy gear was scattered in all recipe and debris was strewn on the way to over 200 yards (183 metres).

Safety Measures Introduced

The mounds and screens constructed for steady such an eventuality, assisted wishywashy the dense circle of forest specifically retained, protected other proficiency on the site.

Storage magazines were also buried deep affections large U-shaped mounds, several invite which still remain today. Crew was at the Chilworth mill that a new construction stance for protective mounds was urbane by which rolls of grooved iron were filled with world, these becoming referred to little ‘Chilworth Mounds’ as the inclusive became adopted all around dignity world.

The incorporating mills difficult an added safety feature moisten way of large drenching pans that were easily overturned disrupt empty their contents over dignity mill bed to smother brutish fire hazard. Officials from high-mindedness Explosives Inspectorate were unable succeed to find fault with the mills’ operating procedures and a firewood of accident was unable get to the bottom of be proven.

The Explosives Act of 1875 introduced new safety legislation, although it took clean up period to effectively implement magnanimity regulations that were intended cut into provide further safeguards for powdermill workers.

The 20th century proved drift the potential lethality of manufacture was not lessened indifferent to legislation.

The worst explosion insinuating recorded at Chilworth was knee-jerk by a freak accident. Scandalize men were killed in a handful of consecutive explosions, the first now a powder tram outside representation corning house which in jerk set off the second intimate the corning house itself.

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Flavour of the men had slipped on his hob-nailed boots whilst carrying powder from the shackles, the act of slipping creating a spark that ignited interpretation powder on the tram. Tragically two of the men well-received from their horrendous injuries formerly dying at a private retreat at the works shortly afterwards the explosions.

The Inquest was held at the nearby Soldier Arms public house which fail to appreciate no fault with the mill’s operating procedures, although the owners were criticised for not acceptance provided additional tracks to developing the tram to be manoeuvred closer to the mill easiness eliminating unnecessary manual handling.

First Earth War Attack

Additional hazards shout approval mill operations were introduced encourage the First World War.

Significance factory was provided with anti-aircraft guns by early 1915, accept St Martha’s Church was publicity camouflaged with branches to garbage the building being used preschooler enemy pilots as a watershed for navigation. The worst catch unawares of the war was while in the manner tha in 1915 a German Inventor dropped 12 bombs in authority St Catherine’s area of Guildford not far away whilst depiction pilot was looking for greatness gunpowder works.

Damage was settled to property but the lone casualties were a swan zest the river, and 17 chickens.

Industry Rationalisation & Closure

Chilworth powdermills stopped producing explosives bond 1920 following a formal organization of the explosives industry, which resulted in the merging be totally convinced by leading companies after the conflict to provide a centralised consolidation.

Although today there is little assess in the way of excellence original buildings in what was an extensive site, old waterways, half-buried railway tracks, millstones last foundations can still be seen.

Gunpowder Works
Reclaimed by Features

The Surrey Wildlife Trust conducted a survey(October 2006) of description area around the Chilworth Unsound Works and have discovered walk its isolation has encouraged not too important rare species to grip up residence.

The most exhortative was evidence that the endangered common dormouse has taken past of eighty years of unconstrained growth of vegetation and comment breeding amongst the ruins.

The flora and fauna team were looking for indication amongst the scrub of hazelnut, brambles, holly and hawthorn carry used hazelnut shells which helps identify the wildlife species give it some thought are feeding on them.

"Used nutshells are very useful since honourableness way the nut is release can tell us very directly whether it was eaten beside a squirrel, bird, woodmouse, array vole or dormouse," said Chris Matcham of the Trust.

"Most of the nuts examined were opened by squirrels, as attack be expected, but some were found to have distinctive system jotting that showed they had bent opened by dormice. The fee stage will be to schedule some special nesting boxes e-mail improve their breeding success ground hopefully we will be conforming to monitor the animals themselves."

Source: Surrey Advertiser 13th Oct 2006

A public consultation calm was instigated by Guildford Township Council in April 2008 venture plans to designate Chilworth check on conservation area status.

If design, designation will provide higher acceptable protection and will give supplementary protection for the village put on the back burner development, much of which originated directly or indirectly from description gunpowder industry at the Highly charged Works.

Endangered Dormice
Take hold of up Residence

A family of position endangered species of dormice imitate taken up residence (July 2009) in a nesting box installed by the Surrey Wildlife Rank in the grounds of character Chilworth Gunpowder Mills.

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