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Wandsworth attracted little industry until the 1630s, despite its considerable advantages - a powerful river for driving mills, plenty of clean water, a Thames-side position for bringing in coal and proximity to London. New industries then arrived: frying pans and armour plate in the 1630s, copper, gunpowder, dyeing and bleaching in the 1650s, and calico printing, hatmaking and leather in the 1680s. By the 18th century Wandsworth had as great a range of industries as any parish in the country. Its story highlights the crucial role of foreign workers in bringing new skills to England, the role of London's environs as a source of power and clean water for industrial processes essential to the city, and the role of Londoners and the London market in promoting new industries and technologies.