1880s Steam Incorporating Mills

Mills

The underfloor gear room and blast proof walls remain. A raised wooden floor would have been near to today’s foot level where material would have been taken in from the tramway.

Lightweight roofing and front screens were designed to direct any blast away from the building and machinery within. A drenching mechanism was put in place that automatically doused all bays in the event of an explosion in any of the others. Look for the metal pulleys just below the roof line.

In its construction the RSJs (Rolled Steel Joists) were among the earliest used in the UK. See the marking ‘BURBACH 1884’

Mills

An iron incorporating mill was installed in each of the six chambers.

Here the gunpowder ingredients were crushed together in a pan under the rims of two vertical mill wheels running in a circular trough.

A sketch of an Iron incorporating mill by Gruson of Magdeburg, Germany

Iron incorporating mill by Gruson of Magdeburg, Germany