Lowwood Mills

near Ulverston, blackpowder maker

Cumbrian gunpowder makers

The gunpowder (blackpowder) industry became established in Cumbria in response to the increasing demand nationally for blasting powder from mines and quarries through the 18th century, taking advantage of local water supplies for powering mills, and timber for making charcoal.

Seven powder manufactories operated in Westmorland and the Furness area of Lancashire at various times between c.1764 and 1936. All produced gunpowder chiefly for the civilian, as opposed to the military, market. The factories were concentrated at:

• Old Sedgwick, New Sedgwick, and Basingill along the banks of the River Kent, 5-6km south of Kendal;
• Gatebeck High and Low Works, about 4km to the south-east of the group above;
• Blackbeck and Lowwood occupy neighbouring valleys close to Haverthwaite;
• Elterwater, an outlier, was located at the foot of Great Langdale.

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Lowwood Mills and the Lowwood Gunpowder Co.

1802 "the gunpowder mills at Low-wood, about five miles from Cartmel, were discovered to be on fire; two of them were blown up, and another entirely burnt ..."

1862 "An alarming and destructive fire took place at the Lowwood gunpowder mills on Sunday night and Monday morning last."

1868 "An explosion, attended with loss of life, occurred on Friday at the Low-wood powder mills, near Ulverstone. This is the third accident of the kind that has occurred in the neighbourhood during the past ..."

1889 Funeral of Mr W. H. Wakefield, was attended by employés of Messrs, Wakefield, Crewdson, and Co., Messrs, W. H. Wakefield and Co., the Lowwood Gunpowder Co., etc

1903 "An alarming explosion took place at Lowwood Gunpowder Mills, Lowwood, near Ulverstone The press-house, in which the mixture pressed into cakes, was blown up, and the two men in charge ..."

1903 "Mr John Wakefield Weston, manager of the Lowwood Works, said he was always ... and believed complaints were always conveyed to him."

1910 Mr. J. H. Ellwood, J.P., manager of the Lowwood Gunpowder Mills

1913 Serious explosion at the mills

1914 One of the mills at Low wood Works had been blown up by an explosion of gunpowder.

1914 Owned by W. H. Wakefield and Co

At the end of World War I, demand for their product collapsed catastrophically. The Cumbrian mills' response was to merge with their competitors as Explosives Trades

See Also

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