Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills
The Mills are an Anchor Point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage, set in 175 acres (0.71 km2) of parkland and containing 21 buildings of major historical importance.The deputy comptroller of the Royal Laboratory at Woolwich, Major, later Lieutenant General, Sir William Congreve advocated that the Waltham Abbey Mills should be purchased by the Crown to ensure secure supplies and to establish what would now be called a centre of excellence for development of manufacturing processes and to establish quality and cost standards by which private contractors could be judged.[1] Reflecting this, the mills were able to respond successfully in volume and quality to the massive increases in demand which arose over the period of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars from 1789, culminating in the victory at Waterloo in 1815.The East Flank, including a long range of Cordite incorporating mills, designed by Harry Bell Measures, was built at this time.As a research centre Waltham Abbey was responsible for military propellant and high explosives and expanded into the increasingly significant field of rocket propellants, solid and liquid and a range of specialised applications, e.g. 'snifters' for altering space vehicles direction when in flight, cartridges for firing aircraft ejector seats, engine and generator starter cartridges – these applications have been called 'a measured strong shove'.Visitors can see exhibits related to gunpowder making, tour the site on a land train[7] An attempt to demolish the cordite mills and replace them with dormitories for young people staying at a children's activity centre was rejected by Epping Forest District Council in 2016 after exposure in the national press.[11] After the closure of ERDE, the inherited archive material passed through a number of hands and storage locations, particularly in the latter period before opening to the public, when outside staff from the firm designing the exhibition had to have free access.The opportunity has therefore been taken to start a ground-up exercise involving a complete check of the holding and the design of computer databases of the material in order to produce the digital catalogue.
Rocket Propulsion EstablishmentWaltham AbbeyRoyal Gunpowder MillsUnited KingdomBallincolligFavershamGunpowdernitro-basedexplosivespropellantssmokeless powderblack powderSecond World WarDefence Research EstablishmentPropellants, Explosives and Rocket Motor EstablishmentRoyal Armament Research and Development EstablishmentEuropean Route of Industrial Heritagefulling millMillhead StreamRiver Leavegetable oilsSecond Dutch WarsaltpetreBedfordshireHertfordshirePhilippa WaltonWoolwichLieutenant General, Sir William CongreveJohn RennieThe CrownFrench RevolutionNapoleonic WarsWaterlooCrimean WarRussiaBoer WarpropellantFirst World WarCorditeHarry Bell MeasurestorpexBouncing BombROF BridgwaterScotlandROF BishoptonROF WrexhamROF Ranskillrocketejector seatsSkylarkRoyal Ordnance PlcWaltham Abbey SSSIscheduled ancient monumentnarrow-gauge railwayBaguley-DrewryHunsletGreenwood and BatleyRuston & Hornsby0-4-4-0Lee Valley ParkThe War of the WorldsH. G. WellsMichael OndaatjeWarlightCountryfileHelen MacdonaldBallincollig Royal Gunpowder MillsFaversham explosives industryJ. E. GordonEnglish HeritageAfter the BattleSinclair, IainHeritage railwaysAmerton RailwayAmberley Museum RailwayBredgar and Wormshill Light RailwayBure Valley RailwayCleethorpes Coast Light RailwayGartell Light RailwayGreat Whipsnade RailwayHastings Miniature RailwayHayling Seaside RailwayHythe Pier, Railway and FerryLaunceston Steam RailwayLeighton Buzzard Light RailwayLondon Post Office RailwayLynton and Barnstaple RailwayNorth Gloucestershire RailwayPerrygrove RailwayRavenglass and Eskdale RailwayRomney, Hythe and Dymchurch RailwayRudyard Lake Steam RailwayRuislip Lido RailwaySeaton TramwaySittingbourne and Kemsley Light RailwaySouth Tynedale RailwaySouthend Pier RailwaySteeple Grange Light RailwayVolk's Electric RailwayWells and Walsingham Light RailwayWest Lancashire Light RailwayWhistlestop ValleyYaxham Light RailwayAppleby Frodingham RailwayAvon Valley RailwayBattlefield Line RailwayBluebell RailwayBodmin and Wenford RailwayBowes RailwayBristol Harbour RailwayCambrian Heritage RailwaysChasewater RailwayChinnor and Princes Risborough RailwayCholsey and Wallingford RailwayChurnet Valley RailwayColne Valley RailwayDartmouth Steam RailwayDean Forest RailwayDerwent Valley Light RailwayEast Kent RailwayEast Lancashire RailwayEast Somerset RailwayEcclesbourne Valley RailwayEden Valley RailwayEmbsay and Bolton Abbey Steam RailwayEpping Ongar Railway