Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

The remains of the 19th century gunpowder works of Pigou, Wilks and Lawrence. Foundations of three incorporating mills, excavated in the 1980s. Each mill consists of a pair of rectangular mill houses, each about 20 ft. square and set one on each side of a deep water channel, or mill race. each mill race originally contained a large circular water-wheel which powered huge millstones in each mill-house. John Spilman erected the first English paper mill to be worked as a commercial success about the year 1585. In 1580 he had converted one or both of the mills (which came to him with the Manor of Bicknors) into a paper mill, and five years later saw the successful start of paper-making in Dartford. All trace of this mill has disappeared, but it was probably situated near what became later the Powder Mills of Messrs. Pigou, Wilks and Lawrence, on the right bank of the Darent and south of Powder Mill Lane.

Monument Types

• FULLING MILL (FULLING MILL, Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• PAPER MILL (PAPER MILL, Post Medieval - 1732 AD to 1900 AD)
• WATERMILL (WATER MILL, Post Medieval - 1732 AD to 1900 AD)
• GUNPOWDER WORKS (GUNPOWDER WORKS, Modern - 1901 AD to 1907 AD)

Full description

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The mansion and mills of the manor of Portbrugge, or Bicknors, so named from its contiguity to the bridge, thrown over the river or port of Dartford, came into the hands of Sir John Spilman, Queen Elizabeth's jeweller, after the death of Mr. Vaughan, in 1580. He erected a paper mill, usually said to be the first of its kind in England, for the making of writing paper, on the site. The family continued in the business until c. 1686, when a Mr. Blackwell was in possession. His successor Richard Archer failed in business in 1729. The mill became very dilapidated, being unoccupied until about 1732 when it was converted into a gunpowder factory by Messrs. Pike & Edsall. The business is now carried on to a great extent by Messrs. Pigous' and Wilks. (1) John Spilman erected the first English paper mill to be worked as a commercial success about the year 1585. In 1580 he had converted one or both of the mills (which came to him with the Manor of Bicknors) into a paper mill, and five years later saw the successful start of paper-making in Dartford. All trace of this mill has disappeared, but it was probably situated near what became later the Powder Mills of Messrs. Pigou, Wilks and Lawrence, on the right bank of the Darent and south of Powder Mill Lane. [TQ 5435 7290] (2) The powder mills were situated at TQ 548729. They no longer exist as such, the buildings or site having been taken over as Engineering Works. (3) The surviving core of this major industrial archaeological site lies astride the River Darent and in 1983 it came within the latest phase of a new industrial development spreading from the west. The new river widening scheme would have destroyed all the structures and left the river in a single wide channel. The site was saved and with the encouragement of the Planning Department of Dartford Borough Council and the Southern Water Authority, a new design was quickly produced and approved. As part of the agreement, the Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit had to agree to carry out emergency work repairing brickwork in the channels, in addition to its work of excavating the main structures. (4) Most of the original buildings on the gunpowder mills site have been demolished over the years, nearly all the water channels filled in and machinery everywhere removed. However, several of the smaller buildings near Powder Mill Lane seem to have formed part of the 19th Century complex and are now used for light industrial work or storage. By some good chance the foundations of at least three of the actual gunpowder mills have survived along the line of main river and these are the ones saved from destruction in 1983. These were the incorporating mills that formed a crucial part of the manufacturing process. Each mill consists of a pair of rectangular mill houses, each about 20 ft. square and set one on each side of a deep water channel, or mill race. each mill race originally contained a large circular water-wheel which powered huge millstones in each mill-house. (5) A fulling mill was located on the land circa. 1325-1350. A field name Tenter's Field, located on the opposite bank, probably indicates the location of the area used for laying out and drying out the cloth. The poweder mills were taken over by Pigou and Andrews in 1778. By 1912 gun-cotton and other modern explosives were being made in a factory adjacent to the old Black Powder Works. The site closed down after the First World War. (6)

Additional References:(8).

Dartford has a long association with explosive production and by the late 19th century other armament manufactures had been attracted to the hinterlands of these towns. (9)

<1> Hist. & Ants. of Dartford, 1844, pp.305-7. (J. Dunkin) (OS Card Reference). SKE44060.

<2> Dartford Historical Notes 1933, p.395. (S.K. Kayes) (OS Card Reference). SKE39646.

<3> F1 CFW 11-NOV-59 (OS Card Reference). SKE42533.

<4> Kent Arch Review No.75 (1984) 112-3. (OS Card Reference). SKE45873.

<5> Brian Philp, 1984, The Dartford Gunpowder Mills (Bibliographic reference). SKE13072.

<6> Field report for monument TQ 57 SW 33 - November, 1959 (Bibliographic reference). SKE3141.

<7> Not applicable, SMR Kent uncatalogued index entry, A2/A282 Dartford improvements: Historic environment assessment, CAT, 1994. (Miscellaneous Material). SKE6440.

<8> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 1994 Jan, A2/A282 Dartford - Historic Environmental Assessment (Unpublished document). SWX6767.

<9> RCHME, 1995, Thames Gateway: Recording Historic Buildings And Landscapes On The Thames Estuary (Unpublished document). SKE17329.

<10> Philp, B. J., 2002, Archaeology in the Front Line: 50 Years of Kent Rescue 1952 - 2002 (Monograph). SKE11928.

Sources and further reading