Dangerous Energy: The Archaeology of Gunpowder and Military Explosives Manufacture (English Heritage)

Ebook (PDF) published 2014. This book comprises a national study of the explosives industry and provides a framework for identification of its industrial archaeology and social history. Few monuments of gunpowder manufacture survive in Britain from the Middle Ages, although its existence is documented. Late 17th-century water-powered works are identifiable but sparse. In the later 18th century, however, the industry was transformed by state acquisition of key factories, notably at Faversham and at Waltham Abbey.In the mid-19th century developments in Britain paralleled those in continental Europe and in America, namely a shift to production on an industrial scale related to advances in armaments technology. The urgency and large-scale demands of the two world wars brought state-directed or state-led solutions to explosives production in the 20th century. Yhe book's concluding section looks at planning, preservation, conservation and presentation in relation to prospective future uses of these sites. This book comprises a national study of the explosives industry and provides a framework for identification of its industrial archaeology and social history. Few monuments of gunpowder manufacture survive in Britain from the Middle Ages, although its existence is documented. Late 17th-century water-powered works are identifiable but sparse. In the later 18th century, however, the industry was transformed by state acquisition of key factories, notably at Faversham and at Waltham Abbey.In the mid-19th century developments in Britain paralleled those in continental Europe and in America, namely a shift to production on an industrial scale related to advances in armaments technology. The urgency and large-scale demands of the two world wars brought state-directed or state-led solutions to explosives production in the 20th century. Yhe book's concluding section looks at planning, preservation, conservation and presentation in relation to prospective future uses of these sites. This book ... Publisher description Illustrations vii Tables xiv Foreword xv Acknowledgements xvi Summary xviii Introduction xxi 1. 'Success to the Black Art' 1 2. The royal factories 1759-1850 30 3. Gunpowder manufacture in the second half of the nineteenth century 67 4. The demise of gunpowder 107 5. The development of the chemical explosives industry, c. 1850-1914 119 6. The Great War 1914-18 155 7. Rearmament and the Second World War 197 8. The archaeology of rocketry 240 9. Survival and reuse 263 Gazetteer 274 Glossary 290 Bibliography 294 Index 307 This book comprises a national study of the explosives industry and provides a framework for identification of its industrial archaeology and social history. It ranges from gunpowder manufacture in the late Middle Ages through to 20th-century explosives. Published by English Heritage, Dangerous Energy examines the archaeology of gunpowder and military explosives manufacture and provides a compact history of their use and manufacture in England