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 East India Company and gunpowder production in England
K R FAIRCLOUGH
After over twenty years of relying upon the market for gunpowder to equip its ships, the East India Company decided to manufacture its own from saltpetre imported from India. For several years the Company organized production itself but in 1628 decided to sub-contract its facilities in an attempt to reduce costs. Political changes meant that in 1632 the Company lost the right to produce gunpowder and for a period its mills lay idle. This paper discusses the Company's production at Thorpe and Chilworth in Surrey, the political problems that this production involved, and the political changes which saw the Company withdraw completely from any interest in the gunpowder industry in 1636 but saw Chilworth emerge as the most important production site in England.
