Showing posts with label Richard Cornwall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Richard Cornwall. Show all posts

Tuesday 26 April 2022

Skulferatu #68 - Stobsmill Gunpowder Works, Gorebridge

 

It was one of those warm, winter days, when the sun is out, and you feel that spring might come early.  A good day for a walk.  Having recently come across some maps of walks around Gore Glen, by Gorebridge, I decided to follow one and have a nice woodland walk.  So, I took a train from Edinburgh to Gorebridge and set out.  However, my map reading skills and sense of direction are so bad that I ended up doing a bizarre route that took me to the back of some sewage works and then on to a path that looked like it had been made by deer rather than people, which led up a steep embankment and into some grounds I probably wasn’t meant to be in.  Finally I ended up back in Gorebridge and then back on the proper path again.  I followed this and ended up in the woods where I came across the ruins of the Stobsmill Gunpowder Works.

 

A photo of the ruins of one of the buildings from the  Stobsmill Gunpowder Works in Gorebridge.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Ruins of one of the gunpowder works buildings

 

A photo of the ruins of one of the buildings from the  Stobsmill Gunpowder Works in Gorebridge.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Ruins of one of the gunpowder works buildings

 

I wandered around the crumbling remains of the buildings that once housed a thriving and somewhat dangerous industry.  The stone walls were being subsumed back into nature and were moss covered with ferns growing from the gaps and cracks.  Birds sang in the trees above and water bubbled in the nearby stream.  It was all very different a couple of hundred years ago when there would have been dozens of men at work in and around the buildings, and water wheels would have been churning away to power the whole operation.

 

A photo of a collapsed stone structure in the Stobsmill Gunpowder Works in Gorebridge.  It is covered in ferns and moss.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Ruined structure in one of the buildings

 

A photo of a collapsed stone structure in the Stobsmill Gunpowder Works in Gorebridge.  It is covered in ferns and moss.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Stones moss covered with ferns growing from the gaps and cracks

 

A photo of a collapsed wall of one of the Stobsmill Gunpowder Works buildings in Gorebridge.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Collapsed walls of one of the buildings

 

A photo of the remains of one of the stone walls of the buildings for the Stobsmill Gunpowder Works in Gorebridge.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Remains of walls of one of the buildings

 

A photo of a rather battered looking abandoned bicycle lying in the woods in front of the ruins of one of the Stobsmill Gunpowder Works buildings in Gorebridge.Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Abandoned bike by walls of one of the buildings

 

In 1794 the works at Stobsmill were constructed for the Hitchener and Hunter Company to start producing gunpowder.  You might think that this was a company well versed in the production of such an explosive material, but no, it was the venture of William Hitchener, a millwright, and John Hunter, a farmer.  They were both originally from Surrey and had applied there for a licence to produce gunpowder but had been turned down as they lacked the necessary skills or experience to run such a dangerous business. Somehow, they had found their way to Gorebridge where, along with a more experienced partner, John Merrick, they applied for and were successful in gaining a licence to manufacture gunpowder.

 

The works were constructed in an isolated area within the shelter of a valley near to Gorebridge.  The valley was used as a natural barrier in case an explosion occurred, and artificial mounds were created and planted with trees to lessen any explosion that might happen.  The works were built by the Gore Water, with the river being channelled and used to drive the ten waterwheels that powered them. 

 

A photo of a shallow river, the Gore Water, running through woodland by the Stobsmill Gunpowder Works in Gorebridge.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The Gore Water running by the gunpowder works buildings

 

The gunpowder produced at the works was exported all around the world and was used by the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars.

 

Advert for gunpowder produced at Stobsmill which reads - New Improved Chemical Gunpowder. HITCHENER and HUNTER, while they gratefully acknowledge the support they have obtained from the Noblemen and Gentlemen who have used their Gunpowder, have again to solicit their attention this article, made on the new improved chemical principle, which combines the properties quickness ignition with cleanness and 'strength.' H. & H having received the unqualified approbation of sportsmen with confidence recommend their gunpowder to the public. J. Carter & Co. of Liverpool, will have a supply for the trade by the beginning of July. Stobs Mills, near Fushie Bridge, N. B. 23rd June, 1829.
Advert for gunpowder produced at Stobsmill from the Chester Chronicle, 17 July 1829

 

As you might expect in an era when health and safety concerns were minimal, there were quite a few accidents at the works and several large explosions.  In 1803 an explosion occurred that killed John Hunter, who was in his garden when a large stone from the blast tore off his arm.  Two of the men working at the mill were also killed in that explosion.

 

On the morning of 18 February 1825 an explosion occurred that was so big it could be heard in Fife, and it rattled the windows of those living in Edinburgh, eight miles away.  It was also reported that the shockwave from the explosion caused the church bells in Dalkeith, some five miles away, to start ringing and that a ploughman working in a field almost a mile away was thrown thirty yards by the force of the blast.  Luckily, he was unharmed.  While in the nearby village of Gorebridge the windows of all the houses were blown in.


Shortly before the explosion, two of the workmen at the mill, Richard Cornwall and Walter Thomson, had been busy loading casks of gunpowder from the ‘Drying Room’ on to a horse drawn waggon.  The casks were then to be taken to a store in another building a short distance away.  Cornwall, at some point went back into the ‘Drying Room’ to retrieve more casks, while Thomson was loading them on to the waggon.  Something then triggered a huge explosion in the ‘Drying Room’, which in turn also caused the store to explode.  These buildings were completely destroyed and both Cornwall and Thomson were blown to pieces.  A report at the time describes how the mangled fragments of the men’s bodies were found scattered around over the distance of a mile and that it was impossible to tell which of the fragments belonged to which man.  Other workers on the site were reported to have been blown to the ground, with some throwing themselves into the river in search of safety.  While the body of the horse that had been with the waggon was found thirty yards from the explosion and the trees all around were shattered and broken.  Some passers-by, who had been on the high road at the time of the explosion described a huge column of black smoke rising up from the valley and large stones being thrown up from it, like a volcano.

 

It was reckoned that about 60 barrels of gunpowder had exploded, each of these containing 112 lbs (51 kg) of powder. So in total over 3000kg of gunpowder.  You would think that given an explosion of that enormity the mills might close down, but no, given a business that lucrative and that vital to war, Empire, etc., they carried on.  Then in 1827 there was another explosion…

 

On Saturday 29 September 1827 at around seven thirty in the morning the residents of Gorebridge were woken by a loud blast when the ‘Corning House’ (the building in which the powder was separated into granules) at the gunpowder works exploded.  The horrific scene that met those who hurried to the ruined building to help was described graphically in a report of the incident by the Caledonian Mercury –

 

‘…the three men who were employed in the premises at the time…were killed by the explosion.  One of the unfortunate men had his legs torn from his body; another his belly torn open, and his entrails hanging out; and the third was blown into the water at a considerable distance from the Mill, where he was found dead about an hour after.  Search was immediately made for the members which were severed from the bodies: but when found, they were so dreadfully mutilated, that it was impossible to know to which the different members belonged.  When looking around the scene of this terrible visitation, it seemed as if some destroying angel had been there, doing his work of desolation and death.  The premises wherein the explosion took place…lay in one heap of ruins; the surrounding trees were stript of their foliage; and the grass was burnt black and bare…’

 

Now, you may be thinking that given the amount of accidents at Stobsmill, those working there were a bit careless, or that the owners were unduly lax over health and safety, and uncaring when it came to their workforce.  However, it seems that explosions at gunpowder factories were not that uncommon, that they were just one of the dangers of working in that trade.  A few days after the explosion at Stobsmill, there was an explosion at the premises of Messrs Pigou & co, a Powder Mill in Dartford, Kent.  Three workmen were also killed in that explosion.

 

Anyway, the buildings at Stobsmill were repaired and work carried on.  Then on Wednesday 21 March 1838, at around six thirty in the morning there was another explosion.  The working day had begun around half an hour earlier and the workforce was spread out throughout the site engaged in their various tasks.  In the ‘Corning House’ two men, Robertson, and West, were busy at work when there was a huge blast that destroyed the building.  Their colleagues ran to the smoking ruins and in the rubble they found Robertson.  He was still breathing but died shortly after from his wounds.  The body of West was then found ‘at some distance’ from the building.  A report of the incident in The Scotsman notes that the damage to the buildings and machinery was significant and that ‘the loss to the proprietor must be considerable – insurance on property of this nature being of course out of the question.’  No shit Sherlock!

 

Again the buildings were repaired, and work carried on until around 1861 when the mills finally closed.  Now all that is left of them are the ruins in the woodland of the Gore Glen.  A place so peaceful that it is hard to imagine that it was once a site of heavy industry and several tragic, fatal, and devastating accidents.

 

I left the Skulferatu that had accompanied me on my walk in a moss and lichen covered hollow in one of the walls.

 

A photo of a small ceramic skull (Skulferatu 68) being held up in front of the ruins of part of the Stobsmill Gunpowder Works in Gorebridge.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #68

 

A photo of a small ceramic skull (Skulferatu 68) in the wall of one of the ruined buildings of Stobsmill Gunpowder Works in Gorebridge.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.

 

A photo of a small ceramic skull (Skulferatu 68) in the wall of one of the ruined buildings of Stobsmill Gunpowder Works in Gorebridge.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #68 in a moss and lichen covered hollow in one of the walls.

 

Google map showing location of Skulferatu #68
Map showing location of Skulferatu #68

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are –

 

Latitude 55.83960

Longitude -3.051440

 

I used the following sources for information on Stobsmill Gunpowder Works -

 

The Statistical Accounts of Scotland 1791-1845, Vol 1

Temple, County of Edinburgh (Page 53)

 

Gorebridge Community Development Trust

https://gorebridge.org.uk/heritage/stobsmill-gunpowder-works-an-introduction/

 

The Scots Magazine

Tuesday, 1 March 1825

 

Caledonian Mercury

Saturday, 19 February 1825

 

Caledonian Mercury

Monday, 1 October 1827

 

The Scotsman

Wednesday, 28 March 1838


Article and photographs are copyright of © Kevin Nosferatu, unless otherwise specified.