A HISTORY OF SURREY 



mills to Mr. John Sharp, who was subsequently 

 joined by his brother Thomas, and the business 

 was carried on under the style of J. & T. 

 Sharp.* Afterwards John's son Samuel be- 

 came a partner, when the style was changed 

 to J. T. & S. Sharp, and so remained imtil 

 the business was sold in 1 88 1 to Mr. C. Marcus 

 Westfield, who began the manufacture of the 

 highest class of black powder for the govern- 

 ment. 



Since this latter date the manufecture of 

 gunpowder has been completely revolutionized 

 in this country. In the first place the gradual 

 increase in the size of guns, in order to 

 compete with armour plates, necessitated the 

 use of a slower burning powder that would at 

 once less endanger the gun and at the same 

 time give a greater velocity to the shot. The 

 diflSculty was met by forming the powder into 

 hexagonal prisms with a hole through the 

 centre. So long ago as 1868 this powder 

 was adopted by Krupp for his breech-loading 

 gims, but it was not until 1880 that Mr. 

 Edward Kraftmeier, a present director of the 

 Chilworth Gunpowder Company, introduced 

 it to the notice of the British government. 

 It then still consisted of the usual proportions 

 of saltpetre, charcoal and sulphur, but about 

 that time changes were made in its comjaosi- 

 tion. The proportion of sulphur was reduced 

 and a new kind of charcoal of a chocolate 

 colour was employed. This gave the prisms 

 the appearance of cocoa, and the powder was 

 hence called brown or cocoa or prismatic 

 powder." 



The second change that has completed the 

 revolution in the manufacture of powder in 

 recent years has been the introduction of 

 cordite or smokeless powder. In being largely 

 instrumental in securing the success in Eng- 

 land of both these innovations, the Chilworth 

 mills have played a part fully in accordance 

 with the reputation which an unbroken exis- 

 tence of nearly three centuries has given 

 them. 



The representations of Mr. Kraftmeier 

 having persuaded the British government of 

 the superior results of the new prismatic pow- 

 der when employed in heavy guns, it became 

 necessary to obtain a supply. This however 

 could only be done from the German manu- 

 facturers. But as it was impossible for this 

 country to remain dependent on powder supplies 

 from a foreign country, arrangements were 

 made with the government by Mr. Kraftmeier 



' Ex inf. C. Sharp, Esq. 



' Ex inf. Chilworth Gunpowder Co., Ltd. 

 See also Wyman's Commercial Encyclopaedia (1888) 

 and the Standard oi 2^ May 1888. 



for the manufacture of this prismatic powder. 

 The German inventors, Mr. J. N. Heideman 

 and Mr. M. Duttenhofer, undertook to instruct 

 the superintendent of the Royal Gunpowder 

 Factory at Waltham Abbey in the manufacture 

 of the military kinds of prismatic powder. 

 Further, to secure the supply of this article in 

 England, the Chilworth Gunpowder Com- 

 pany was formed to work the German inven- 

 tion and make the several varieties of the 

 powder designed for military, sporting and 

 blasting purposes. 



Mr. Westfield's interest in the Chilworth 

 mills, which now belong to the Duke of 

 Northumberland as ground landlord, was ac- 

 quired by the company in 1885, and arrange- 

 ments were at once made for enlarging the 

 works and fitting them up with every modern 

 improvement. The board of directors included 

 amongst others the two German inventors 

 above mentioned. Mr. Kraftmeier and Mr. 

 Westfield became the managing directors and 

 Lord Sudeley the chairman of the company. 



The business done by the new company 

 necessitated a very great extension of the 

 Chilworth mills, and they now stretch for 

 nearly two miles along the valley and are one 

 of the leading gunpowder mills of the world. 

 Within a few years of the company's forma- 

 tion it was found necessary to open another 

 factory at Fernilee in Derbyshire, so large 

 were the quantities of the powder demanded 

 by the British government, by Sir W. G. 

 Armstrong & Co., Ltd., and by various 

 foreign governments. 



The company did not confine its attentions 

 to the manufacture of the prismatic powders, 

 but very shortly took up the manufacture of 

 smokeless powder, for which the great im- 

 provements in the production of quick-firing 

 guns began to create a demand shortly before 

 the year 1890. At the gunnery trials of the 

 Italian cruiser Piemonte in September 1889 

 experiments were made with the Chilworth 

 powder, and although it proved not absolutely 

 smokeless, the thin transparent fumes which 

 arose from it were speedily dissipated, and 

 there was an absence of that dense obscuration 

 by the raising of which the use of black powder 

 with quick-firing guns would have defeated the 

 purpose of the new weapon. Moreover the 

 merits of the new powder did not stop here. 

 The muzzle velocity given by it was greatly 

 increased, and this notwithstanding the fact 

 that it was possible to considerably reduce the 

 weight of the charge from that which would 

 have been necessary of the ordinary black 

 powder.' 



328 



Standard, 21 Sept. 1889. 



