Corning House
Here, pressed powder was broken up and sorted into different grain sizes through a series of sieves - coarse powders for cannons, finer grained powders for muskets, and the finest for small handguns and priming.
This is an example of an 1830s corning house taken from the Waltham Abbey Special Collection.
In 1906 a spark, thought to come from a hob-nailed boot, caused an explosion which killed 6 men.
According to press reports at the time the men were ‘blown in different directions’. One was hurled through the trees and was found in a meadow about 150 yards away. The shock of the explosion was felt as far away as Cranleigh, Godalming and Shere.
Memorial card for the victims of the 1906 explosion.