# Chilworth Gunpowder Mill, Surrey, Jan 11 (Pic Heavy)



## Winch It In (Feb 1, 2011)

Spotted this while staying at a friends house, on google earth. So I thought it might be worth checking out.




*History *

The gunpowder mills at Chilworth in Surrey were established in 1626 on the course of The Tilling Bourne, a tributary to the River Wey. Although only a small river, its four principal tributaries, and the fact that it flowed over a steep gradient, ensured a good flow of water that not only powered the gunpowder mills but a good number of other mills too. The river rises close to the summit of Leith Hill (GR: TQ136433) near Forest Green, which at 965 feet (294 metres) is the highest point in South-eastern England.
The Chilworth site was extensive, as the manufacture of gunpowder not only involved a series of difficult processes, but also being a highly volatile procedure required that buildings be widely spaced and separated by protective mounds and trees.
The remains of the mills are a Scheduled Ancient Monument managed by English Heritage covering 11 hectares (27 acres) in a designated Area of High Ecological Value. The natural habitat is a wet woodland predominantly of alder, with the Tilling Bourne running against the northern boundary. A man-made mill race runs along the southern boundary. Above one of the millponds there was a hopfield that produced the hops for beer brewed specially for the workers at the mills, although with hindsight would this have been a very sensible perk given the nature of their work?
Six hundred people were employed at Chilworth at the mills peak, although in reality very few of these were employed directly in the manufacture of the gunpowder. The majority provided services supporting the mills including coopering barrels.

Gunpowder Manufacture 

Prior to the mills being established, gunpowder was made by hand. This involved the mixing and crushing together of a mixture of saltpetre (potassium nitrate), charcoal and sulphur (also known as Brimstone) with a pestle and mortar. A very hazardous business for the powdermaker.
Alders grow profusely all along the River Wey, and they made good charcoal for gunpowder. The charcoal was burned in ‘pitsheads’ using traditional methods in the woods where the trees were grown.
The saltpetre was originally imported from India and North Africa where the climate was hot and dry, readily stimulating its formation. However securing this critical ingredient was always a headache, and so the bribery in 1561 of a German Captain, Gerard Honrick, securing the recipe for making saltpetre was a major coup. The method of manufacture involved collecting heapblack earth formed within dovecotes and stables, and to which urine, dung and lime were added. This mixture was turned at intervals over several months until the salts had formed which were extracted in solution. The liquor was then boiled down and cooled so that crystals of saltpetre precipitated.

Priority Manufacturer 

So critical was ensuring a dependable supply of saltpetre and gunpowder that in 1621 James I appointed Lords of the Admiralty as Commissioners for Saltpetre and Gunpowder. They divided the country into districts for collection, and specialised saltpetre men were appointed and given weekly quotas to meet. They were also awarded powers with the right to enter premises to dig for nitrogenous earth.
Powdermills at Wotton and Abinger on the Tilling Bourne were established by George Evelyn, his son John and one Richard Hill following their appointment as manufacturers by Royal Letters Patent to obtain saltpetre and manufacture gunpowder in 1589. Their grip on supply was considerably strengthened when three year contracts were awarded to them consecutively in 1621 and 1624. The contract provided for two thirds of their output to be delivered to the government’s official stores in the Tower of London, with the balance released to be sold at will to merchant seamen, and others who needed the powder.
Elizabeth I established the system of Crown Appointments imposing a monopoly in which a sole powder maker to the Crown was appointed, and efforts were made to suppress other manufacturers. The importance of Chilworth in the supply of gunpowder was secured when special permissions were granted to the East India Company to manufacture gunpowder for its own use. They established their powder mills at Chilworth in 1626.
The East India Company continued to manufacture their powder here for another ten years until the mills were considerably expanded to supply the government of Charles I, and later made gunpowder for Parliament during the Civil War. Their powder maker stayed on to continue operating the mills.

Powdermaking : an Insecure Occupation 
The early manufacture of gunpowder was an insecure and unpredictable occupation. Demand fluctuated considerably and consecutive governments were notoriously bad at paying their bills. Many powdermakers suffered financial hardship. Two of the three sites at Chilworth were out of gunpowder production by 1704, with the upper works closed completely and the lower works converted to paper making. The middle works continued and by the late 19th century had expanded to become a site of national importance again and were at the time the most modern in the country.

*More History* http://www.stmarthaparishcouncil.co.uk/local-information/history/gunpowder-mills










Swing-Bridge to allow the punts to travel up and down the waterways.









Waterway system.








































Storage Hut.




Steam engine bed.




Edge runner stone.
























Roadblock.



















Type 24 pillbox known as " The Surrey Drum". Spotted on the way out.

Thanks for looking.​


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## sYnc_below (Feb 1, 2011)

Cool...what an unusual looking place!


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## night crawler (Feb 1, 2011)

Now that is what I call a good walk in the woods.


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## cptpies (Feb 2, 2011)

Thanks Winch It In. It's great to see a Mowlem Drum. I must get myself up there and hunt them all down at some point. That looks like one of the rarer half drum ones.


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## BahrainPete (Feb 2, 2011)

That looks like it was built to last, some impressive looking buildings and walls. I would imagine it would have been somewhat unnerving working in that type of industry.


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## Winch It In (Feb 2, 2011)

cptpies said:


> Thanks Winch It In. It's great to see a Mowlem Drum. I must get myself up there and hunt them all down at some point. That looks like one of the rarer half drum ones.



Thanks Cptpies, I think your right heres a close up of the back for you.




Winch


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## skeleton key (Feb 2, 2011)

Cracking mate well done ,place looks like a realy good explore 

SK


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## King Al (Feb 2, 2011)

Nice one Winch! interesting place


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## godzilla73 (Feb 2, 2011)

Terrific stuff. There's a lot of good explores in the Leith Hill area. Thanks for sharing!
GDZ


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## muppet (Feb 3, 2011)

good find there like these sort of places thanks for posting


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## Foxylady (Feb 6, 2011)

Seriously cool place. I love the way it's so overgrown and become part of the landscape. Well done for exploring and reporting the various remains. Neat.


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## stuck247 (Feb 9, 2011)

Looks like an intriguing explore there winch. Well done on spotting it via google earth...I will have to be a bit more observant in future!


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