MANUFACTURE, ETC., OF GUNPOWDER. 7 i 9 



pages to an account of the nature and action of this explosive, its 

 manufacture, and the principles involved in it, and, finally, its trans- 

 port, and the precautions necessary for our security against explo- 

 sions like that of last October. We shall describe the process of 

 manufacture in use at the Government mills, as these are probably 

 the most perfect and efficient in the kingdom. 



Fifteen miles to the northeast of London, between the sluggish 

 stream of the River Lea and the northern heights of Epping Forest, 

 stands the little village of Waltham, famous for its old abbey, founded 

 by the last Saxon King of England, and destined to be his tomb after 

 the fatal field of Hastings. On both sides of the high-road beyond 

 the village extends a wide tract of flat alluvial ground, traversed by 

 the branches of the Lea, and rich in plantations of willow and alder, 

 with here and there stately rows of poplars. A tall chimney-shaft, 

 the roofs of scattered buildings, and a range of houses near the road, 

 indicate that these well-planted fields are the site of the Royal Gun- 

 powder Factory. 



The Waltham Abbey Mills are probably the oldest in Great Britain. 

 They must have been established about the middle of the sixteenth 

 century, for we know that before that time nearly all the powder used 

 in England was imported from the Continent. But in 1561 we hear 

 of JohnThomworth, of Waltham, buying, as agent for Queen Elizabeth, 

 saltpetre, sulphur, and staves for making barrels. In the following 

 century the parish register shows entries of deaths resulting from 

 explosions at the mills ; and Fuller, who was Rector of Waltham, 

 alludes in one of his works to the dangers of the manufacture, re- 

 marking that the mills were blown up five times during the seven 

 years of his residence in the parish. The only wonder is, that ex 7 

 plosions were not far more frequent in the old factories, where the 

 elaborate precautions now adopted were utterly unknown. Powder was 

 allowed to accumulate in heaps on the floor, spirits of wine was used 

 instead of water to moisten the ingredients, under the impression that 

 it made better and stronger powder, and the drying process was 

 effected by heating the powder on metal plates over a fire without any 

 means of regulating the temperature. Finally, all the workrooms 

 were close together, and often under a single roof, so that, if the 

 powder in one room exploded, that in the rest would follow, like a 

 boy's train of crackers. 



It was in 1787 that Government bought the Waltham Mills from 

 the last private proprietor, Mr. John Walton, supposed by some to 

 have been a descendant of the family of old Izaak. Major (afterward 

 Sir William) Congreve was the first superintendent. Horse and water 

 power only were employed, most of the machinery was of wood, and 

 the incorporating mills -were, like mortar-mills at the present time, 

 worked only by horses. Since then great improvements have been 

 introduced into the manufacturing process; the factory has been 



