# Curtis and Harvey Explosive Factory



## Malenis (Jan 10, 2016)

This site has intrigued me after looking at the groundworks on Google Earth....just shells of buildings but still an interesting place to have a mooch around. There was a nasty rain cloud approaching so didn't get to all the buildings I had wanted to :-(

_"A late 19th-century gunpowder storage facility, replaced by an early 20th-century Chemical Explosives Factory which closed during the 1920s. Extensive earthworks and a number of buildings relating to the factory survive. 
During WWII its site is said to have been used as bombing decoy."
_


Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-49 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-48 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-47 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-46 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-45 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-44 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-43 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-42 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-41 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-40 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-39 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-38 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-37 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-36 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-35 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-34 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-33 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-32 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-31 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-30 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-28 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-27 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-26 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-25 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-24 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-22 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-21 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-20 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-19 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-18 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-17 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-16 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-15 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-14 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-13 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-12 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-11 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-10 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-9 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-8 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-7 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-6 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-5 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-4 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-3 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr

Curtis & Harvey's Explosives Factory-2 by Malenis Photography, on Flickr


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## krela (Jan 10, 2016)

I like that, thank you Malenis.


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## flyboys90 (Jan 10, 2016)

Very interesting site and such a variation of buildings/uses.Smashing pics,thanks for sharing.


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## oldscrote (Jan 10, 2016)

Very nice indeed but the pictures are huge and took an age to load on my less than rapid broadband


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## smiler (Jan 10, 2016)

Nice One Malenis, I enjoyed it, Thanks


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## Sam Haltin (Jan 10, 2016)

Now that's interesting. A lot of buildings with a few questions attached to them. Especially the semi-circular building, I can only assume you can put a field gun there, the one with a chimney remaining possibly admin, and I noticed a pair of railway tracks. Its a pity you didn't look on the side of the rail for a date and the railway company name. Thanks for posting.


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## Malenis (Jan 10, 2016)

English Heritage plan of the site:


Screen Shot 2016-01-10 at 21.20.19 by Malenis Photography


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## HughieD (Jan 10, 2016)

What a fab set of pix. You've really captured the atmosphere of this site. There's a real sense of space and isolation to that set. Brilliant. Thanks for sharing....


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## UrbanX (Jan 11, 2016)

Blimey there's loads of them! 
Fantastic shots, thanks for sharing


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## Dirus_Strictus (Jan 11, 2016)

Hugh Jorgan;318588 A lot of buildings with a few questions attached to them. Especially the semi-circular building said:


> As the shock waves from quite minor thunder storms have been known to cause individual nitro-glycerine production cells to detonate, the positioning of any artillery piece near this and similar sites was a definite NO! The circular nitrating cells came about because of a very early theory (soon proven!) that cylindrical structures will withstand internal explosions better than square or rectangular structures, even when supported by earth bunds. If there was a BANG, one wanted it to all go skywards. All archived operating procedures for this and other explosive works would indicate that Rail Company responsibility ended at the works gate - if the rail is marked, it will most likely be with the name of the rolling mill producing said rail as the explosive producer will have had their contractors purchase and lay all internal track work.
> 
> Although this site is vast,Anybody who knows and understands the chemistry involved will soon work out that what we have here is just a production 'line'. However, because of the quantity of into-glycerine involved production cells had to be small enough to prevent the whole site exploding should one detonate.
> 
> These are some of the best photographs I have seen of this place - they really give you the impression of the scale of this place. Nice one!


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## krela (Jan 11, 2016)

Great post Dirus, another thing that always strikes me about nitroglycerin production and gunpowder production for that matter is just how often things did go bang. It wasn't a theoretical possibility, it happened a LOT, hence the extreme precautions to prevent major catastrophes and limit it to small sections with few deaths, that would allow production to keep rolling.


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## Malenis (Jan 11, 2016)

Dirus_Strictus said:


> As the shock waves from quite minor thunder storms have been known to cause individual nitro-glycerine production cells to detonate, the positioning of any artillery piece near this and similar sites was a definite NO! The circular nitrating cells came about because of a very early theory (soon proven!) that cylindrical structures will withstand internal explosions better than square or rectangular structures, even when supported by earth bunds. If there was a BANG, one wanted it to all go skywards. All archived operating procedures for this and other explosive works would indicate that Rail Company responsibility ended at the works gate - if the rail is marked, it will most likely be with the name of the rolling mill producing said rail as the explosive producer will have had their contractors purchase and lay all internal track work.
> 
> Although this site is vast,Anybody who knows and understands the chemistry involved will soon work out that what we have here is just a production 'line'. However, because of the quantity of into-glycerine involved production cells had to be small enough to prevent the whole site exploding should one detonate.
> 
> These are some of the best photographs I have seen of this place - they really give you the impression of the scale of this place. Nice one!



Great bit of info  & thanks for the compliment


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## Dirus_Strictus (Jan 12, 2016)

I count myself lucky to have been born when I was - it has allowed me to indulge in certain hobbies before the State Law Makers, Police and other parties put a stop to some interesting, then legal pursuits. Looking through my old reloading and shooting records it seems that I am probably the only person here who has used Curtis and Harvey Black Powder. In the 70's and 80's, as more and more of the old gunsmiths closed down due to loss of custom, one occasionally found the odd tin or so of propellant listed in the clearance auction. My then local gunsmith was also a very good friend and it appears that I loaded up some C & H powder that he had obtained, into cartridges for a rare double barrelled game rifle. How any firearm propellant performs is all down to particle/grain size, this is particularly true for black powders and C & H produced one of the smoothest shooting powders I have ever come across. The modern equivalent produced by the ICI Nobel concern at that time was not a patch on the old stuff. It could be that the ever increasing safety demands in this industry, made the production of really uniform sized powder too hazardous for production to continue in that way.

Going back to my early working days with BRB, I used to test railway detonators - Fog Signals - for compliance to contract and function. These things, a small round metal container with a lead strap or tinplate holder were placed on the rail head by hand (lead strap versions) or machine ( tinplate holder) as signal warnings in fog or warnings of obstructions. Internally they contained a quantity of very course Black Powder and a circular anvil holding five percussion caps. One tested the caps individually and weighed the quantity of powder present, before igniting the heap with a small spark. A quite crude device that has saved many a life, even in the 'automatic' age.


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## gingrove (Jan 13, 2016)

Dirus_Strictus said:


> I count myself lucky to have been born when I was - it has allowed me to indulge in certain hobbies before the State Law Makers, Police and other parties put a stop to some interesting, then legal pursuits. Looking through my old reloading and shooting records it seems that I am probably the only person here who has used Curtis and Harvey Black Powder. In the 70's and 80's, as more and more of the old gunsmiths closed down due to loss of custom, one occasionally found the odd tin or so of propellant listed in the clearance auction. My then local gunsmith was also a very good friend and it appears that I loaded up some C & H powder that he had obtained, into cartridges for a rare double barrelled game rifle. How any firearm propellant performs is all down to particle/grain size, this is particularly true for black powders and C & H produced one of the smoothest shooting powders I have ever come across. The modern equivalent produced by the ICI Nobel concern at that time was not a patch on the old stuff. It could be that the ever increasing safety demands in this industry, made the production of really uniform sized powder too hazardous for production to continue in that way.
> 
> Going back to my early working days with BRB, I used to test railway detonators - Fog Signals - for compliance to contract and function. These things, a small round metal container with a lead strap or tinplate holder were placed on the rail head by hand (lead strap versions) or machine ( tinplate holder) as signal warnings in fog or warnings of obstructions. Internally they contained a quantity of very course Black Powder and a circular anvil holding five percussion caps. One tested the caps individually and weighed the quantity of powder present, before igniting the heap with a small spark. A quite crude device that has saved many a life, even in the 'automatic' age.



Thank you I always wondered what was in a fog signal I had assumed that they contained some form of fulminate or azide never realised that they were black powder!

Malenis Great set of pics thanks for posting!


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## borntobemild (Jan 15, 2016)

wow - that place looks bleak!


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## Derelictheart (Mar 8, 2016)

I went there a few times in the Autumn, thing that struck me about the place was the amount of dead animals just laying around, a horse and quite a few sheep.


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## Dirus_Strictus (Mar 9, 2016)

Derelictheart said:


> I went there a few times in the Autumn, thing that struck me about the place was the amount of dead animals just laying around, a horse and quite a few sheep.



Sadly not such an uncommon occurrence on out of the way common land or abandoned places like this. Not that there is any excuse; but finding sheep is somewhat understandable, as an ill sheep once it's down, can be a bugger to spot. The turning out of an old/ill horse to save vet's bills (if that's what happened) is indefensible, but rather all too common in this so called country of animal lovers! However; coming from a farming background I fully understand how difficult it can be to find missing animals.


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## scribe (Mar 14, 2016)

Great shots and a great explore by the looks of them. Cracking job.


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