Surrey Archaeological Collections
Surrey Archaeological Society, 2003. (updated 2023) https://doi.org/10.5284/1000221. How to cite using this DOI
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- ADS Collection: 379
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000221
- How to cite using this DOI
SURREY ARCHAEOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS
The Cordwell family, gunpowder producers at Chilworth 1636â1650
K R FAIRCLOUGH
Chilworth mills had first been deveolped as a gunpowder production site by the East India Company during the winter of1626â7 but in 1636 the Company ceased to have any interestin Chilworth and the site was taken over by Samuel Cordwell. He was acting on behalf of the king, Charles I, who had decided to take control of the gunpowder industry. The resultant gunpowder monopoly was a great success for the king but it aroused resentment and was one of the bones of contention between him and parliament before the Civil War. Cordwellâs production monopoly was cancelled by parliament in 1641 but he was able to continue manufacturing and he emerged as one of the two important suppliers of gunpowder to parliament during the Civil War. After Samuelâs death the business was continued by his brother Robert and his widow Mary until 1650, after which the family ceased to have any involvement in the industry. This article recounts events at Chilworth during the Cordwell era when Chilworth mills first emerged as the most important gunpowder production site in England.
