Royal Gunpowder Mills Visit – Cancelled

10:30 Wednesday 15th September 2021.

Unfortunately it has been necessary to cancel this event because too few people signed up for it.

The Royal Gunpowder Mills are a former industrial site in Waltham Abbey, Essex. It was one of three Royal Gunpowder Mills in the United Kingdom (the others being at Ballincollig and Faversham). Waltham Abbey is the only site to have survived virtually intact.

The Royal Gunpowder Mills, Waltham Abbey, were in operation for over 300 years. Starting in the mid-1850s the site became involved in the development of revolutionary nitro-based explosives and propellants known as “smokeless powder”. The site grew in size, and black powder became less important.

Shortly after World War II it became solely a Defence Research Establishment – firstly the Explosives Research and Development Establishment, then the Propellants, Explosives and Rocket Motor Establishment Waltham Abbey; and finally the Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment Waltham Abbey. Its superior production methods and high quality results earned it a reputation on an international arena.

Uniquely, the explosives were floated on rafts between various locations across the 255 acre complex via a series of River Lea canals or on its own narrow gauge railway.

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