Visit and tour of the Royal Gunpowder Mills, Waltham Abbey

22 July 2025
Royal Gunpowder Mills, Beaulieu Drive, Waltham Abbey, Essex, EN9 1JY
11:30am - 3:30pm

The Royal Gunpowder Mills - A site with over 300 years of explosive history! Join us on Tuesday 22nd July 2025 at 11:30am for a private visit to this magnificent gem of industrial heritage.

The Royal Gunpowder Mills is designated a Scheduled Monument, the highest protection that can be given to a historic site.

Its landscape is shaped by 300 years of making explosives and propellants, sealed off from the outside world and featuring a large number of listed buildings, waterways, dry canals and an alder tree plantation which supplied the wood to make the charcoal, one of the three ingredients of gunpowder. The alder plantation is now part of a nature reserve, which is a site of special scientific interest and attracts a diverse range of animals and plants. It is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.

We’ll also enjoy an expert-led guided tractor trailer tour, even to the restricted areas of the site, including the Grand Nitrator and Quinan Stove, dating from the Victorian to post-war periods; we’ll take a ride on the Gunpowder Railway, see the unique waterways and hydraulic press, have a tour of the Armoury, and we’ll get up close to several listed buildings including the Rocket Vault, Saltpetre & Mixing Houses, and the newly renovated Grade I-listed Gunpowder Incorporating Mill!

Refreshments

All tickets include tea/coffee on arrival. There will be a lunch break during the visit; please note that the Royal Gunpowder Mills does NOT offer food service to purchase on the day, but an optional afternoon tea is available to book in advance – please select the ‘With Afternoon Tea’ ticket type below. If you do not wish to book afternoon tea, you are welcome to bring a packed lunch.

Tickets: Member (no afternoon tea) – £29 / Non-member (no afternoon tea) – £36

Member (with afternoon tea) – £39 / Non-member (with afternoon tea) – £46

Cancellation policy: Refunds can be provided for cancellations 7 or more business days prior to the event.

Accessibility: The Royal Gunpowder Mills is accessible to wheelchairs and buggies with level access/slopes to most buildings and accessible toilets. They have a specially adapted railway carriage and a ramp onto the tractor trailer ride. There is a lift to the film theatre, which has an induction loop.

What We'll Learn

We’ll learn all about the history of explosives and how they were produced at the Royal Gunpowder Mills, including:

How gunpowder originated from China and made its way to the UK
The difference between explosives and propellants
The ingredients that go into producing gunpowder and how the raw materials are gathered
Life on board a battle ship gun deck
Interesting artefacts dug up on site
The way powder boats were used to transport gunpowder
The Dam Busters bouncing bomb
Preventing and what to do in the event of an explosion

About the Gunpowder Railway

Gunpowder production began here in the mid-17th century. Factory buildings were spaced far apart to stop an explosion in one building igniting an explosion in another. For 200 years, canal boats were used to transport materials such as coal, sulphur, charcoal and saltpetre between the factory buildings.

In 1856 the first wooden tramways and wagons were introduced. The site expanded to accommodate the manufacture of new explosives and propellants (such as cordite). As the site continued to grow, the tramways were replaced with first a 2 foot 3 inch, and later an 18 inch gauge railway.

To avoid sparking an explosion, railway wagons were fitted with spark-resistant phosphor bronze wheels. All rolling stock was pushed by hand until the outbreak of the First World War. The war created a huge rise in the demand for explosives. In response, petrol/paraffin and battery powered locomotives were introduced to increase production.

The site stopped manufacturing explosives and propellants during the Second World War; the railway fell out of use and was gradually dismantled. The site then became a top-secret Explosives Research and Development Establishment (ERDE). The Gunpowder Railway follows the route of the perimeter patrol path used by the ERDE.

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