Faversham explosives industry

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<a href="/facts/Faversham/7Ekqlaqp">Faversham</a>, in <a href="/facts/Kent/aYfQI6Fc">Kent</a>, England, has claims to be the cradle of the UK's explosives industry: it was also to become one of its main centres. The first <a href="/facts/Gunpowder/AEcB6HCR">gunpowder</a> plant in the UK was established in the 16th century, possibly at the instigation of the abbey at Faversham. With their estates and <a href="/facts/Financial_endowment/RHm7Hqsy">endowments</a>, <a href="/facts/Monasteries/t8MRXpsM">monasteries</a> were keen to invest in promising technology.
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<p>Faversham was well placed. It had a stream which could be dammed at intervals to provide power for <a href="/facts/Watermill/UTvzQY8S">watermills</a>. On its outskirts were low-lying areas ideal for the culture of <a href="/facts/Alder/KbD9YG8w">alder</a> and <a href="/facts/Willow/F66Xvslm">willow</a> to provide <a href="/facts/Charcoal/tpYGBHTn">charcoal</a>, one of the three key gunpowder ingredients. The stream fed into a tidal creek where <a href="/facts/Sulfur/IK0amTfM">sulphur</a>, another key ingredient, could be imported, and the finished product loaded for dispatch to <a href="/facts/River_Thames/XnQWN52L">Thames</a>-side magazines. The port was also near the Continent where, in time of war, demand for gunpowder was brisk.
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Faversham explosives industry open-in-new

Faversham explosives industry