Gunpowder Works

After the excitement of yesterday's workshop, I continued eastwards for a quick weekend visit to Mum's in Kent.  Today we had to lounge around in the morning for her weekly shop delivery, but in the afternoon took a trip out and ended up at Faversham.

Faversham is an historic market town and looks a fascinating place to visit, but to take full advantage Mum will need her electric scooter and warmer weather! 

A few miles outside of the town we came across a Country Park and I stopped to take a brief stroll with the camera.  The site turned out contain the ruins of the Faversham Gunpowder Mill, established in the 16th Century, and continued as one of the Uk's main centres for explosives until it was closed around1934.  In 1916 there a large explosion which killed 115 men (no women as for some reason, it being Sunday, they weren't allowed to work then!). 108 bodies are interred in a mass grave in the local cemetery.

Throughout the site there is evidence of larger buildings, some cleared with interpretation boards, others merely a few ivy covered standing wall fragments. This is one of the relatively few intact buildings, which today is used as a visitor's centre at weekends. The extra shows the Foreman's house.