Waltham Abbey - Royal Gunpowder Mills

Wednesday 14th April 2010

We left home early because we wanted to be in the car park when the others arrived. Unfortunately on the way there we followed a sign to the Gunpowder Park which turned out to be another place altogether. So we arrived second to Laurie and Elisabeth Denney.
A security guard let us into the car park and we waited there while the other U3A members trickled in. And very cold it was too with a chill wind.
The manager of the Mills turned up on time and let us in for a nice hot cup of tea or coffee and biscuits – very welcome.

The whole site has been turned over to volunteers who are preserving and renovating as and when funds are available.
We split into two groups, one went for a tour of the grounds on the land train while the other visited the museum and saw a video about the Mills.

The grounds are long and narrow and lie between the Old River Lea and the later Navigation. Paved roads run the length of the grounds but there are also several canals – some in water, some now dry. We saw the remains of one of the wooden boats used for carrying dangerous materials about the site.
There is also a narrow gauge railway which is being restored by the volunteers.
There are many fine buildings but some are in a poor state of repair. They are well scattered over the site for safety reasons.
Plenty of grass, scrub and trees with plenty of wildlife. Deer came right up to the land train to be fed. The trees are mostly alder and crack willow. Apparently it is called crack willow because it has a tendency to go Crack and fall on your head and in fact we saw lots of fallen trees.

As time went by other explosives were discovered and put into production.
We saw a tall grassy mound where they used to make nitro-glycerine by mixing two acids. Nitro is very unstable and was useless until Alfred Nobel invented a process which turned it into a solid which he called dynamite. Making the nitro was boring with the possibility of unwelcome excitement. If the temperature went too high it exploded so the worker in charge had to manage the valves etc all day and all night and if he fell asleep he wouldn’t wake up again. To keep him awake the management supplied him with a one-legged stool so when he fell asleep he fell over and woke up. Who needs digital technology?
The mound was surrounded by ponds so the chemicals could be run off into the water if something went wrong. Also the operator could jump in the water if he got sprayed with acid.
In fact quite a bit of nitro would find its way into the ponds so at regular intervals they were cleaned out by throwing in a stick of explosives to blow up all the pollution.

The tour continued round the site showing the laboratory, rolling mills etc.
We saw Newton’s Pool, 12 metres deep where underwater explosives were tested including the explosives used in the Dambusters bouncing bomb, the Press House where the gunpowder was pressed to improve its explosive qualities, powered by a waterwheel which is now listed and a large collection of rockets.
Then we returned to the start point and changed places with the other half of the party.
We were then able to walk to various exhibits.
The 1940’s exhibition brought back memories with an old shop, domestic kitchen, Anderson shelter.
The volunteer in charge of the rocket house was an enthusiast and was ready to talk all day about his collection which showed the development of rocket motors and propellants from Congreve’s gunpowder rocket of the early 19th century through to the guided missiles used in the cold war and the Falklands war.
Among the exhibits is the rocket engine from a Nazi V2 which broke up in mid air over Waltham Abbey in 1945.
We nearly lost Laurie at the rocket exhibition but he finally managed to tear himself away.
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There is a fine museum with lots of artefacts and plenty of photos of the works through the years. In operation for over 300 years, its superior production methods and high quality results earned it an international reputation.
It was a great source of employment for the Waltham Abbey area for many generations and at its height during WW1 over 5,000 local people were employed by the Mills.
But with the danger of the Luftwaffe bombing it, production had to be moved further west and north out of range. The site went over to research and became a centre for rockets.
Finally it closed in 1991.

On the way out there is a shop with a fine collection of books, gifts, preserves and confectionery.

We only scratched the surface of such a large exhibition. I think some of our members will be making a return visit in warmer weather and could easily spend a day exploring the history and the wildlife and even picnic in the grounds.




Highly charged words...

A light hearted catalogue of phrases and sayings in common use today, which originated from gunpowder production and military use.

STICK TO YOUR GUNS – maintain your position don’t change your mind
Cannons were both valuable and important on the battlefield. If enemy soldiers attacked the cannon, the gun crew could switch from using single cannon balls to grapeshot. These were bags of small musket balls that would burst as they left the open end, or muzzle, of the cannon barrel. This deadly spray of small musket balls could cause terrible destruction on the attackers if held to the last possible moment. The deadly blast could stop the attack altogether or stun the attackers allowing the crew to escape to safety.

FLASH IN THE PAN – failure after a showy start
The spark caused by the flint hitting the frizzen lights a small amount of gunpowder in a small pan. This flame then goes through a small hole, or vent, in the barrel and ignites the main charge of powder. Sometimes the hole becomes blocked and the promising fizz and flame of the pan powder does not result in the gun being fired. At a crucial point in a battle this could have proved fatal!

A LOOSE CANNON – someone who is out of control
Early warships used large heavy cannons that needed to be secured in place by ropes and blocks when not in use. The pitch of the sea could cause a loose cannon to roll around crushing and killing men in the cramped conditions on a ship’s gun deck.

A LOAD OF JUNK - unwanted items or rubbish
Junk was a navel term for old rope that was collected and used to make wads to put into the barrels of cannons after gunpowder charge and cannon ball. This helped to prevent the cannon ball from moving up and down the barrel while the ship rolled.

OVER A BARREL – in a helpless situation
In the navy this could mean being tied over a cannon barrel and flogged as a punishment.

SON OF A GUN – a bit of a rogue
On board early warships the men were often not allowed to go ashore at all, for fear of desertion. The men slept, ate and worked around the large guns on the gun deck. Sometimes a few women were allowed to live on board ship too. If any children were born on the ship, they were often recorded as “Son of a Gun”.

BRASS MONKEYS – very cold weather
Early ships sometimes used brass racks to hold cannon balls. In extremely cold weather these racks could contract enough to release the cannon balls, allowing them to roll around while the ship pitched.

POWDER MONKEY – agile young person
The danger of fire and explosion on a wooden warship was great. The magazine room was designed to protect the gunpowder from a stray spark that could destroy the whole ship. Each gun crew had a powder charge carrier, usually a young boy, who had to collect the gunpowder for them. To do this he had to: run to the magazine, pick up the gunpowder charge in a canvas bag, place it in his wooden or metal charge holder and close its lid, then run back to the gun and deliver the charge to the gun loader. The sight of a small boy rushing through, up and over the various obstacles on the gun deck, earned him the nickname of powder monkey, from his agility and speed.

HANG FIRE – delay an action until later
A hang fire is when a gunpowder weapons fails to fire on the first attempt. This can be caused by the initial spark from the flint failing to light the pan powder or by the ignited pan powder failing to light the main charge in the barrel. Sometimes a small ember in the pan can suddenly be fanned back to life and fire the main charge much to the shooter’s surprise and potential danger!.