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Topic: Powder Mills, Leigh (Read 371 times)
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deadants
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I am looking at a birth certificate of 'Henry Wallis' born 21 Sep 1839 at the Powder Mills, Leigh.
His fathers occupation is listed as Powder Maufacturer.
I was wondering if anyone knows anythig about what kind of powder he made?
Was it gun powder or flour?
I wonder if the mill is still there?
Cheers
deadants
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Cleary, Doran, Boland, McCooey, McManus, O'brien, Martin, Savage, Wallis, McCollister, Wood. (More to come soon)
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Hackstaple
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I quote an excerpt from an article on the web:The answer is the Alder Buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula or Frangula alnus)
This thornless bush or small tree, grows to about 5 metres high and is found mostly on damp soil near bogs or marshes and in open, deciduous woodland. In Barnetts Wood you can find it growing near Aspen Pool. Traditionally the wood made a very light flammable charcoal and because of its steady burning properties, was especially exploited in the manufacture of gunpowder fuses for explosives, and the powder for fowling pieces.
Acres were planted in Kent and Sussex in the 18th and 19th centuries for gunpowder manufacture, with the Forestry Commission planting hundreds of acres during the 1939-45 war to provide the best carbon for the fuse in a high velocity shell. You will find a large plantation in nearby Brokes Wood, just the other side of Powdermill Lane. There were at least two gunpowder mills nearby - Old Forge and Brokes - both working in the 18th century. When Old Forge blew up in 1774 the mill had to be rebuilt, this was a common occurrence and one of the hazards of the "pestle and mortar" manufacturing process. The mills finally closed due to competition from the Leigh powder mills near Tonbridge.
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Southern or Southan [Hereford , Monmouthshire & Glos], Jenkins, Meredith and Morgan [Monmouthshire and Glos.], Murrill, Damary, Damry, Ray, Lawrence [all Middx. & London], Nethway from Kenn or Yatton. Also Riley and Lyons in South Africa. Any census information included in this post is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk |
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deadants
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Wow that's great.
I wonder if Henry's father was an employee of a company or was it a private mill?
Here's the certifice of Henry's birth.
http://antsypants.myphotoalbum.com/view_photo.php?full=1&set_albumName=Birth-Certificates&id=Wallis
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Cleary, Doran, Boland, McCooey, McManus, O'brien, Martin, Savage, Wallis, McCollister, Wood. (More to come soon)
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smokey
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Hi
The Powder Mills in Leigh were established at the beginning of the 1800's by the Children family of Tonbridge. One of the partners was Sir Humphrey Davey (of miners lamp fame). The site is presently owned by GlaxoSmithKline and has been extensively rebuilt. However the site of the actual mills and associated canals are still in the woodland out the back (along with a couple of abandoned mill stones. Houses associated with the site still exist outside the gates along with the rather large managers house. I used to work here when it was the property of SmithKline Beecham and researched the history of the mills this I passed onto the local amateur historians when I left. The name is pronounced as Lie not Lee
If I can be of any further help please get in touch
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deadants
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Thanks for the information Smokey. This is turning out to be a bit of a success story. I recived this email from my cousin this morning...
Thanks for the info on Powder Mills, it is very interesting. William, Henry Wallis’s brother was blown up and killed in 1884 in obviously the family Powder Mill.
Henry didn’t work there he apparently was always a miner and a soldier. In the archives in Sheffield there is, so I have been told a photo of the Wallis Powder Mill and some of the workers.
Obtaining this is a problem. But I suppose it would be worse if I didn’t know it was there. So sooner or later I will find someone who is willing to search.
So, Smokey if you know anything about this it would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
deadants
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Cleary, Doran, Boland, McCooey, McManus, O'brien, Martin, Savage, Wallis, McCollister, Wood. (More to come soon)
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smokey
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Hi
The mill was certainly working into the 20th Centry and if I remember correctly was closed shortly before the second world war. At that time it was owned by ICI, however all their records of the site were destroyed in the blitz. It was sold several times but as I said I passed all my information on to local historians when I left. For most (if not all) of its working life it was known as "The Tonbridge Gunpowder works". It was a very large concern and had warehouses in Tonbridge and the London area. The woodland area still has the bases of at least 6 double water mills (the structures by law were burnt down when the mill closed) and the old mess hut and watch mans hut are still there and known as "The Watch House" and used for VIP accomodation by GlaxoSmithKline. I guess this area was never developed due to the numerous canals running through it. From what I remember it had a reputation for producing excellent gunpowder mainly used for sporting purposes. With regard to accidents at the mill there are the remains of some workers buried in Leigh churchyard. Curtis and Harvey spring to mind as the owners at one time and some of the houses in the small village outside the gates bear the initials C&H. a word of caution if you intend to visit the area all the above with the exception of the houses in the village are owned by GlaxoSmithKline and while they are outside their security fence you will soon find yourself approached by security if you stray onto their property.
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deadants
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Ok, thanks Smokey. Does the Tonbridge local historians have a web page? I had a look on google but I was not sure who to look for.
It certanily looks like they made bulk powder for the military over the years. It must have been a large company. The thing that has me scratching my head is that birth register that has Henry Wallis bieng born there. I wonder if the employees lived on site with there familys?
It certainaly has been an education.
Cheers
deadants
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Cleary, Doran, Boland, McCooey, McManus, O'brien, Martin, Savage, Wallis, McCollister, Wood. (More to come soon)
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smokey
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Hi deadants
He certainly could have been born there, there are workers houses (now privately owned) outside the GlaxoSmithKline gates. The Tonbridge works were certainly the biggest concern outside of Tonbridge during the 1800's and a lot of the workers would have lived in company houses or near by. The location is quite isolated (I guess thats a good idea if you are making gunpowder). As to the local historians I have no memory of their names but I spent the best part of a day showing them around the site. They did say they were going to write an article perhaps Tonbridge Museum may be able to help you?
Regards
Smokey
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deadants
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I Have fond a forum in Kent run by the local council. I posted my questions about the powder mill in the Local Historians Forum. Hopfully one of the historians Smokey mentions might read it.
Here's the link to the Kent forum for those who are interested.
http://www.apps.kent.gov.uk/cgi-bin/e&l/artslibforum/discus.pl?pg=topics
deadants
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Cleary, Doran, Boland, McCooey, McManus, O'brien, Martin, Savage, Wallis, McCollister, Wood. (More to come soon)
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